A promising test for pancreatic cancer ... from a teenager
-
0:00 - 0:04Have you ever experienced
a moment in your life -
0:04 - 0:07that was so painful and confusing,
-
0:07 - 0:10that all you wanted to do
-
0:10 - 0:13was learn as much as you could
to make sense of it all? -
0:13 - 0:18When I was 13, a close family friend
who was like an uncle to me -
0:18 - 0:20passed away from pancreatic cancer.
-
0:21 - 0:23When the disease hit so close to home,
-
0:23 - 0:25I knew I needed to learn more.
-
0:25 - 0:27So I went online to find answers.
-
0:28 - 0:33Using the Internet, I found a variety
of statistics on pancreatic cancer, -
0:33 - 0:35and what I had found shocked me.
-
0:36 - 0:41Over 85 percent of all pancreatic cancers
are diagnosed late, -
0:41 - 0:44when someone has less
than a two percent chance of survival. -
0:45 - 0:48Why are we so bad at detecting
pancreatic cancer? -
0:49 - 0:50The reason?
-
0:50 - 0:55Today's current "modern" medicine
is a 60-year-old technique. -
0:55 - 0:57That's older than my dad.
-
0:57 - 1:00(Laughter)
-
1:01 - 1:07But also, it's extremely expensive,
costing 800 dollars per test, -
1:07 - 1:12and it's grossly inaccurate, missing
30 percent of all pancreatic cancers. -
1:13 - 1:17Your doctor would have to be ridiculously
suspicious that you have the cancer -
1:17 - 1:19in order to give you this test.
-
1:19 - 1:22Learning this, I knew there
had to be a better way. -
1:23 - 1:25So, I set up scientific criteria
-
1:25 - 1:27as to what a sensor
would have to look like -
1:27 - 1:30in order to effectively
diagnose pancreatic cancer. -
1:31 - 1:32The sensor would have to be:
-
1:32 - 1:37inexpensive, rapid, simple, sensitive,
-
1:37 - 1:41selective, and minimally invasive.
-
1:42 - 1:46Now, there's a reason why this test
hasn't been updated in over six decades. -
1:47 - 1:50And that's because when
we're looking for pancreatic cancer, -
1:50 - 1:52we're looking at your bloodstream,
-
1:52 - 1:56which is already abundant in all these
tons and tons of protein, -
1:56 - 2:00and you're looking for this miniscule
difference in this tiny amount of protein. -
2:00 - 2:01Just this one protein.
-
2:02 - 2:03That's next to impossible.
-
2:04 - 2:07However, undeterred
due to my teenage optimism -- -
2:07 - 2:08(Laughter)
-
2:08 - 2:13(Applause)
-
2:13 - 2:18I went online to a teenager's
two best friends, Google and Wikipedia. -
2:18 - 2:21I got everything for my homework
from those two sources. -
2:21 - 2:22(Laughter)
-
2:23 - 2:25And what I had found was an article
-
2:25 - 2:29that listed a database
of over 8,000 different proteins -
2:29 - 2:31that are found when you have
pancreatic cancer. -
2:32 - 2:35So, I decided to go
and make it my new mission -
2:35 - 2:37to go through all these proteins,
-
2:37 - 2:40and see which ones could serve
as a bio-marker for pancreatic cancer. -
2:41 - 2:43And to make it a bit simpler for myself,
-
2:43 - 2:47I decided to map out
scientific criteria, and here it is. -
2:47 - 2:51Essentially, first, the protein would have
to be found in all pancreatic cancers, -
2:51 - 2:53at high levels in the bloodstream,
-
2:53 - 2:57in the earliest stages,
but also only in cancer. -
2:57 - 3:00And so I'm just plugging and chugging
through this gargantuan task, -
3:00 - 3:03and finally, on the 4,000th try,
-
3:03 - 3:05when I'm close to losing my sanity,
-
3:05 - 3:06I find the protein.
-
3:07 - 3:11And the name of the protein
I'd located was called mesothelin, -
3:11 - 3:14and it's just your ordinary,
run-of-the-mill type protein, -
3:14 - 3:17unless, of course, you have
pancreatic, ovarian or lung cancer, -
3:17 - 3:20in which case it's found at these
very high levels in your bloodstream. -
3:20 - 3:25But also, the key is that it's found
in the earliest stages of the disease, -
3:25 - 3:28when someone has close
to 100 percent chance of survival. -
3:29 - 3:32So now that I'd found
a reliable protein I could detect, -
3:32 - 3:35I then shifted my focus
to actually detecting that protein, -
3:35 - 3:36and thus, pancreatic cancer.
-
3:38 - 3:41Now, my breakthrough
came in a very unlikely place, -
3:41 - 3:44possibly the most unlikely
place for innovation -- -
3:44 - 3:48my high school biology class,
the absolute stifler of innovation. -
3:48 - 3:50(Laughter)
-
3:50 - 3:53(Applause)
-
3:54 - 3:57And I had snuck in this article
on these things called carbon nanotubes, -
3:57 - 4:00and that's just a long,
thin pipe of carbon -
4:00 - 4:04that's an atom thick, and one
50,000th the diameter of your hair. -
4:04 - 4:06And despite their extremely small sizes,
-
4:06 - 4:08they have these incredible properties.
-
4:08 - 4:11They're kind of like the superheroes
of material science. -
4:11 - 4:15And while I was sneakily reading this
article under my desk in my biology class, -
4:15 - 4:19we were supposed to be paying attention
to these other kind of cool molecules, -
4:19 - 4:20called antibodies.
-
4:20 - 4:22And these are pretty cool
because they only react -
4:22 - 4:24with one specific protein,
-
4:24 - 4:27but they're not nearly
as interesting as carbon nanotubes. -
4:27 - 4:32And so then, I was sitting in class,
and suddenly it hit me: -
4:32 - 4:36I could combine what I was
reading about, carbon nanotubes, -
4:36 - 4:39with what I was supposed to be
thinking about, antibodies. -
4:39 - 4:42Essentially, I could weave
a bunch of these antibodies -
4:42 - 4:44into a network of carbon nanotubes,
-
4:44 - 4:48such that you have a network
that only reacts with one protein, -
4:48 - 4:51but also, due to the properties
of these nanotubes, -
4:51 - 4:53it will change its electrical properties,
-
4:53 - 4:55based on the amount of protein present.
-
4:56 - 4:57However, there's a catch.
-
4:58 - 5:01These networks of carbon
nanotubes are extremely flimsy. -
5:01 - 5:04And since they're so delicate,
they need to be supported. -
5:05 - 5:06So that's why I chose to use paper.
-
5:07 - 5:10Making a cancer sensor
out of paper is about as simple -
5:10 - 5:12as making chocolate chip
cookies, which I love. -
5:12 - 5:14(Laughs)
-
5:15 - 5:18You start with some water,
pour in some nanotubes, -
5:18 - 5:23add antibodies, mix it up,
take some paper, dip it, dry it, -
5:23 - 5:25and you can detect cancer.
-
5:27 - 5:33(Applause)
-
5:33 - 5:36Then, suddenly, a thought occurred
-
5:36 - 5:40that kind of put a blemish
on my amazing plan here. -
5:41 - 5:44I can't really do cancer research
on my kitchen countertop. -
5:44 - 5:45My mom wouldn't really like that.
-
5:46 - 5:49So instead, I decided to go for a lab.
-
5:49 - 5:54So I typed up a budget, a materials list,
a timeline, and a procedure, -
5:54 - 5:56and I emailed it
to 200 different professors -
5:56 - 6:00at Johns Hopkins University
and the National Institutes of Health -- -
6:00 - 6:03essentially, anyone that had anything
to do with pancreatic cancer. -
6:03 - 6:06I sat back waiting for these
positive emails to be pouring in, -
6:06 - 6:09saying, "You're a genius!
You're going to save us all!" -
6:09 - 6:10And --
-
6:10 - 6:13(Laughter)
-
6:13 - 6:17Then reality took hold,
and over the course of a month, -
6:17 - 6:22I got 199 rejections
out of those 200 emails. -
6:22 - 6:24One professor even went
through my entire procedure, -
6:24 - 6:27painstakingly -- I'm not really
sure where he got all this time -- -
6:27 - 6:31and he went through and said
why each and every step -
6:31 - 6:33was like the worst mistake
I could ever make. -
6:34 - 6:38Clearly, the professors did not have
as high of an opinion of my work as I did. -
6:40 - 6:42However, there is a silver lining.
-
6:42 - 6:45One professor said, "Maybe I might
be able to help you, kid." -
6:45 - 6:46So, I went in that direction.
-
6:47 - 6:51(Laughter)
-
6:51 - 6:53As you can never say no to a kid.
-
6:54 - 6:56And so then, three months later,
-
6:56 - 6:59I finally nailed down
a harsh deadline with this guy, -
6:59 - 7:03and I get into his lab, I get
all excited, and then I sit down, -
7:03 - 7:05I start opening my mouth and talking,
-
7:05 - 7:07and five seconds later
he calls in another Ph.D. -
7:07 - 7:11Ph.D.s just flock into this little room,
-
7:11 - 7:13and they're just firing
these questions at me, -
7:13 - 7:16and by the end, I kind of felt
like I was in a clown car. -
7:16 - 7:18There were 20 Ph.D.s,
plus me and the professor -
7:18 - 7:20crammed into this tiny office space,
-
7:20 - 7:23with them firing these
rapid-fire questions at me, -
7:23 - 7:25trying to sink my procedure.
-
7:25 - 7:28How unlikely is that? I mean, pshhh.
-
7:28 - 7:31(Laughter)
-
7:32 - 7:35However, subjecting myself
to that interrogation -- -
7:35 - 7:38I answered all their questions,
and I guessed on quite a few -
7:38 - 7:39but I got them right --
-
7:39 - 7:43and I finally landed
the lab space I needed. -
7:43 - 7:47But it was shortly afterwards that
I discovered my once brilliant procedure -
7:47 - 7:49had something like a million holes in it,
-
7:49 - 7:51and over the course of seven months,
-
7:51 - 7:54I painstakingly filled
each and every one of those holes. -
7:54 - 7:55The result?
-
7:55 - 8:00One small paper sensor that costs
three cents and takes five minutes to run. -
8:00 - 8:04This makes it 168 times faster,
-
8:04 - 8:07over 26,000 times less expensive,
-
8:07 - 8:10and over 400 times more sensitive
than our current standard -
8:10 - 8:12for pancreatic cancer detection.
-
8:13 - 8:20(Applause)
-
8:22 - 8:24One of the best parts
of the sensor, though, -
8:24 - 8:27is that it has close
to 100 percent accuracy, -
8:27 - 8:30and can detect the cancer
in the earliest stages, -
8:30 - 8:33when someone has close
to 100 percent chance of survival. -
8:33 - 8:35And so in the next two to five years,
-
8:35 - 8:38this sensor could potentially lift
the pancreatic cancer survival rates -
8:38 - 8:42from a dismal 5.5 percent,
to close to 100 percent, -
8:42 - 8:45and it would do similar
for ovarian and lung cancer. -
8:46 - 8:47But it wouldn't stop there.
-
8:48 - 8:49By switching out that antibody,
-
8:49 - 8:53you can look at a different protein,
thus, a different disease -- -
8:53 - 8:56potentially any disease
in the entire world. -
8:56 - 9:01So that ranges from heart disease,
to malaria, HIV, AIDS, -
9:01 - 9:03as well as other forms
of cancer -- anything. -
9:04 - 9:06And so, hopefully one day,
-
9:06 - 9:08we can all have that one extra uncle,
-
9:08 - 9:11that one mother, that one brother, sister,
-
9:12 - 9:14we can have that one more
family member to love. -
9:14 - 9:19And that our hearts will be rid
of that one disease burden -
9:19 - 9:22that comes from pancreatic,
ovarian and lung cancer, -
9:22 - 9:24and potentially any disease.
-
9:24 - 9:27But through the Internet,
anything is possible. -
9:27 - 9:28Theories can be shared,
-
9:28 - 9:31and you don't have to be
a professor with multiple degrees -
9:31 - 9:33to have your ideas valued.
-
9:33 - 9:37It's a neutral space, where what you
look like, age or gender -- -
9:37 - 9:38it doesn't matter.
-
9:38 - 9:40It's just your ideas that count.
-
9:41 - 9:45For me, it's all about looking
at the Internet in an entirely new way, -
9:45 - 9:47to realize that there's so much more to it
-
9:47 - 9:50than just posting duck-face
pictures of yourself online. -
9:51 - 9:52(Laughter)
-
9:53 - 9:54You could be changing the world.
-
9:56 - 10:01So if a 15 year-old who didn't even
know what a pancreas was -
10:01 - 10:04could find a new way
to detect pancreatic cancer -- -
10:05 - 10:07just imagine what you could do.
-
10:07 - 10:08Thank you.
-
10:08 - 10:15(Applause)
- Title:
- A promising test for pancreatic cancer ... from a teenager
- Speaker:
- Jack Andraka
- Description:
-
Over 85 percent of all pancreatic cancers are diagnosed late, when someone has less than two percent chance of survival. How could this be? Jack Andraka talks about how he developed a promising early detection test for pancreatic cancer that’s super cheap, effective and non-invasive -- all before his 16th birthday.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 10:49
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for A promising test for pancreatic cancer ... from a teenager | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for A promising test for pancreatic cancer ... from a teenager | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for A promising test for pancreatic cancer ... from a teenager | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for A promising test for pancreatic cancer ... from a teenager | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for A promising test for pancreatic cancer ... from a teenager | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for A promising test for pancreatic cancer ... from a teenager | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for A promising test for pancreatic cancer ... from a teenager | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for A promising test for pancreatic cancer ... from a teenager |
Krystian Aparta
The English transcript was updated on 5/4/2015.