Soon‚ your skin will tell you if you have cancer

Scientists have found a way to plant a mole in your body to spy on unwanted intruders and alert you to their presence.

The futuristic detective uses cutting-edge biotechnology to warn its host of early-stage cancer growth‚ allowing interventions at a point where treatment has the greatest chance of success.

German scientists from the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Basel have developed an implant that is inserted under the skin.

When activated‚ it generates an artificial mole on the surface of the skin that is visible to the naked eye.

The four most common types of cancer — prostate‚ lung‚ colon and breast cancer — are all demarcated by a spike in the blood calcium level as tumours grow.

The implant‚ which is comprised of a genetic network integrated into human cells‚ functions as an early warning system to detect these elevated levels of calcium.

When levels rise‚ a signal is released that begins the production of melanin‚ the body's tanning pigment‚ in the genetically modified cells‚ and a mole develops on the skin adjacent to the implant.

In a press release‚ lead researcher Martin Fussenegger said early detection of cancer was key to survival. Among breast cancer patients‚ recovery rates could reach 98% with early detection‚ but they dropped to only 25% if detection was delayed.

“Nowadays‚ people generally go to the doctor only when the tumour begins to cause problems. Unfortunately‚ by that point it is often too late‚” he said.

The appearance of the mole should not cause people to panic‚ as it would simply be an indication that they needed to seek medical attention before the condition worsened.

So far the implant has been tested only on mice and pig skin. The researchers said it had been overwhelmingly successful‚ but it will still be a while before human testing begins‚ and even longer before the system can be implemented.

- Serena Hawkey is on a study abroad programme with Round Earth Media