Dad's death inspired my cancer research, says scientist

A scientist behind pioneering research into a test which can show if a patient has a brain tumour from their tears, says the work was deeply personal to her.

Prof Petra Hamerlik who is leading the study at the University of Manchester, lost her father to a brain tumour at 15 and said it took eight months to diagnose the condition.

She said the experience motivated her to find a better way to diagnose brain tumours and she has dedicated her life to cancer research.

The ground-breaking screening test, which started with a casual chat between two scientists in a bar in Denmark in 2012, has proved successful in initial trials and the research is about to be published worldwide.

Hamerlik told BBC North West Tonight: "In that conversation it somehow came up that he was analysing tears for some ocular diseases and I was like, 'what if there is a connection?' because we know the eye is the extension of the central nervous system.

"We speculated that maybe whatever is happening in the brain when the tumour starts growing it is mirrored and reflected in the tear fluid.

"So that was like kind of the first thought."

It proved to be right. While Hamerlik had tried blood tests they did not work about 500 people have taken part in the NHS approved study into tear fluid across eight different sites.

Researchers in other countries aware of the exciting possibilities are helping for free.

Huw McCandless, a brain tumour patient from Disley, took part in the research.

Because he has had surgery they know exactly what tumour he has and so could see if the test identified it.

He explained the simple screening test in which he had like a thick piece of paperput underneath both his lower eyelid "for about 10 minutes" until the colour changed.

He said: "It made your eyes feel a bit dry, but that was it."

Hamerlik said: "We want to make sure this test does not misdiagnose, so if you have a signal you know it's a signal related to a tumour and not some other neurological condition, which is not a trivial task."

Medics said developing successful brain cancer screening will improve outcomes and spur investments in new treatments which have changed little for decades.

Hamerlik remains cautious and it is likely to be another decade before her test is rolled out.

"The field is moving cosmic speed, so my thinking is by the time we get the test approved, there might be treatment, and I believe there will be treatment that we can offer the patients."

She is driven by her personal experience. Growing up in rural Slovakia, Hamerlik's dad died with a brain tumour when she was 15.

"I have always been curious about whether we can detect brain tumours before they become symptomatic because - especially in the case of my father - it took eight months for the clinicians to figure out he has a brain tumour."

She added: "For many doctors they would see in the GP in the point of care they would see maybe one patient/two patients in their whole career so it's very rare."

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