{"id":7151,"date":"2026-03-29T09:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T09:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=7151"},"modified":"2026-03-29T11:56:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T11:56:20","slug":"covid-style-at-home-test-could-detect-breast-cancer-before-symptoms-begin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=7151","title":{"rendered":"Covid-style at-home test could detect breast cancer before symptoms begin"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By MEIKE LEONARD, HEALTH REPORTER<\/a><\/p>\n

Published:<\/span>

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A simple urine test could detect early-stage breast cancer<\/a> before symptoms begin, claims pioneering new research.<\/p>\n

Scientists at Aberystwyth University are developing a lateral flow test \u2013 similar to a Covid or pregnancy test \u2013 that can detect early signs of the disease from a single urine sample.<\/p>\n

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in females, with more than 56,000 UK women diagnosed with the condition every year.<\/p>\n

If caught early, survival rates are high.<\/p>\n

But once the cancer has spread around the body, it becomes harder to treat.<\/p>\n

Just one in four women with stage four breast cancer will survive five years or more after diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Soon, the pioneering test could help detect thousands of women\u2019s cancers while they are still at the treatable stage.<\/p>\n

To create the test, the research team at Aberystwyth University identified metabolic changes linked to breast cancer.<\/p>\n

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\"Breast<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in females, with more than 56,000 UK women diagnosed with the condition every year<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Scientists<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Scientists at Aberystwyth University are developing a lateral flow test \u2013 similar to a Covid or pregnancy test \u2013 that can detect early signs of the disease from a single urine sample<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

These can be detected in urine on small strips in tests that can be administered at home, much like a pregnancy test.<\/p>\n

\u2018Our work is revealing a distinct biochemical \u201csignature\u201d associated with the earliest stages of breast cancer \u2013 one that can be detected in a simple urine sample,\u2019 said lead researcher Professor Luis Mur.<\/p>\n

\u2018By translating these findings into a lateral flow test, we hope to create a diagnostic tool that is affordable, easy to use at home, and capable of detecting cancer earlier than many current methods.<\/p>\n

\u2018Early diagnosis saves lives, and our aim is to make that crucial first step accessible to as many women as possible.\u2019<\/p>\n

The testing kit is in the early stages of development, in partnership with the Welsh Government\u2019s Smart Award programme, which aims to accelerate innovation and strengthen research in both academia and industry within Wales.<\/p>\n

The team is also working to develop urine tests for gynaecological conditions including endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome to cut the delays in identifying women\u2019s health issues that are often under-recognised.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\nCovid-style at-home test could detect breast cancer before symptoms begin<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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  By MEIKE LEONARD, HEALTH REPORTER Published: 21:23 EDT, 21 March 2026 | Updated: 21:23 EDT, 21 March 2026 A simple urine test could detect early-stage breast cancer before symptoms begin, claims pioneering new research. Scientists at Aberystwyth University are developing a lateral flow test \u2013 similar to a Covid or pregnancy test \u2013 that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1360,1354,1358,1355,1361,1359,1356,1357],"class_list":{"0":"post-7151","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthy","8":"tag-at-home-testing","9":"tag-breast-cancer","10":"tag-cancer-screening","11":"tag-early-diagnosis","12":"tag-health-technology","13":"tag-medical-innovation","14":"tag-urine-test","15":"tag-womens-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7151"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7170,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7151\/revisions\/7170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}