Worm-Based Diagnosis Combining Microfluidics toward Early Cancer Screening
Yutao Shi,
Chen Cui,
Shengzhi Chen,
Siyu Chen,
Yiheng Wang,
Qingyang Xu,
Lan Yang,
Jiayi Ye,
Zhi Hong,
Huan Hu
Affiliations
Yutao Shi
Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJU-UoE Institute), Zhejiang University School of Medicine, International Campus, Zhejiang University, Haining 314400, China
Chen Cui
Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJU-UoE Institute), Zhejiang University School of Medicine, International Campus, Zhejiang University, Haining 314400, China
Shengzhi Chen
Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJU-UoE Institute), Zhejiang University School of Medicine, International Campus, Zhejiang University, Haining 314400, China
Siyu Chen
Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJU-UoE Institute), Zhejiang University School of Medicine, International Campus, Zhejiang University, Haining 314400, China
Yiheng Wang
Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJU-UoE Institute), Zhejiang University School of Medicine, International Campus, Zhejiang University, Haining 314400, China
Qingyang Xu
Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJU-UoE Institute), Zhejiang University School of Medicine, International Campus, Zhejiang University, Haining 314400, China
Lan Yang
Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJU-UoE Institute), Zhejiang University School of Medicine, International Campus, Zhejiang University, Haining 314400, China
Jiayi Ye
Zhejiang University-University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Institute (ZJU-UIUC Institute), International Campus, Zhejiang University, Haining 314400, China
Zhi Hong
Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJU-UoE Institute), Zhejiang University School of Medicine, International Campus, Zhejiang University, Haining 314400, China
Huan Hu
Zhejiang University-University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Institute (ZJU-UIUC Institute), International Campus, Zhejiang University, Haining 314400, China
Early cancer diagnosis increases therapy efficiency and saves huge medical costs. Traditional blood-based cancer markers and endoscopy procedures demonstrate limited capability in the diagnosis. Reliable, non-invasive, and cost-effective methods are in high demand across the world. Worm-based diagnosis, utilizing the chemosensory neuronal system of C. elegans, emerges as a non-invasive approach for early cancer diagnosis with high sensitivity. It facilitates effectiveness in large-scale cancer screening for the foreseeable future. Here, we review the progress of a unique route of early cancer diagnosis based on the chemosensory neuronal system of C. elegans. We first introduce the basic procedures of the chemotaxis assay of C. elegans: synchronization, behavior assay, immobilization, and counting. Then, we review the progress of each procedure and the various cancer types for which this method has achieved early diagnosis. For each procedure, we list examples of microfluidics technologies that have improved the automation, throughput, and efficiency of each step or module. Finally, we envision that microfluidics technologies combined with the chemotaxis assay of C. elegans can lead to an automated, cost-effective, non-invasive early cancer screening technology, with the development of more mature microfluidic modules as well as systematic integration of functional modules.
