Professor Petra Hamerlik is leading pioneering research funded by Stand Up To Cancer – a joint fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and Channel 4 exploring whether tear fluid could help detect brain tumours earlier – a breakthrough that could transform diagnosis and save lives.

Professor Hamerlik and colleagues in our brain tumour theme are investigating how changes in tear fluid might reveal immune signals from the brain, potentially enabling earlier, faster diagnosis of brain tumours through a simple eye test.

After a decade of work, including a successful Danish pilot study, the team is now conducting a large international clinical trial, INFORM, across the UK and Europe. Early results using a simple eye test (the Schirmer strip, already used for dry eye diagnosis) have shown high accuracy in detecting brain tumours.

The ultimate goal is to create a rapid, point-of-care test that GPs could use to decide whether a patient needs urgent MRI scanning. It could also complement MRI in cases where scans are inconclusive.

Read more on the CRUK website 🔗Could tears hold the key to detecting brain tumours earlier? – Cancer Research UK – Cancer News

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