Abstract
Thyroglobulin Tg is a unique protein which can only be producedby the thyroid gland. Tg is used as a cancer biomarker in the postoperativemanagement of patients with differentiated thyroid cancerDTC. As high as 20% of patients initially treated for thyroidectomy andradioablation therapy show subsequent persistence or recurrence of thedisease; 8% eventually die. It is crucial for clinicians managing patientsof DTC to monitor their concentration of Tg in serum. Unfortunately, conventional immunoassay techniques for Tg detection are notsatisfactory for clinical use due to variability in between-method andinterference by other serum proteins. Effective, accurate and rapidbiosensing techniques are urgently needed to measure Tg in serum.This chapter reviews state-of-the-art microfluidic-based biosensorsfor general disease diagnostics and proposes potential biosensingtechniques for detecting Tg. It is critical for clinicians and engineers tounderstand the technical limitations inherent in Tg measurement so thatappropriate biosensors can be developed for accurate Tg monitoring, then used effectively in post-operative DTC patient management. Thischapter provides a comprehensive overview of thyroid cancer, Tg as abiomarker, conventional Tg measurement methods, and novel biosensortechniques. It also introduces a potential method for the early diagnosisof thyroid cancer.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Biosensors and Cancer |
| Publisher | CRC Press |
| Pages | 300-318 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781466558083 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781578087341 |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2012 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine
- General Engineering