A Review of the Nucleic Acid-Based Lateral Flow Assay for Detection of Breast Cancer from Circulating Biomarkers at a Point-of-Care in Low Income Countries

Abstract

The current levels of breast cancer in African women have contributed to the high mortality rates among them. In South Africa, the incidence of breast cancer is also on the rise due to changes in behavioural and biological risk factors. Such low survival rates can be attributed to the late diagnosis of the disease due to a lack of access and the high costs of the current diagnostic tools. Breast cancer is asymptomatic at early stages, which is the best time to detect it and intervene to prevent high mortality rates. Proper risk assessment, campaigns, and access to adequate healthcare need to be prioritised among patients at an early stage. Early detection of breast cancer can significantly improve the survival rate of breast cancer patients, since therapeutic strategies are more effective at this stage. Early detection of breast cancer can be achieved by developing devices that are simple, sensitive, low-cost, and employed at point-of-care (POC), especially in low-income countries (LICs). Nucleic-acid-based lateral flow assays (NABLFAs) that combine molecular detection with the immunochemical visualisation principles, have recently emerged as tools for disease diagnosis, even for low biomarker concentrations. Detection of circulating genetic biomarkers in non-invasively collected biological fluids with NABLFAs presents an appealing and suitable method for POC testing in resource-limited regions and/or LICs. Diagnosis of breast cancer at an early stage will improve the survival rates of the patients. This review covers the analysis of the current state of NABLFA technologies used in developing countries to reduce the scourge of breast cancer.