Analyzing the Composition of Tears to Identify Cancer

"A tear sample (\~75 microliters in a tuberculin syringe with the needle removed) will be taken at time of the initial clinic visit. After collection, the tears will be put directly on ice and taken to the lab. If it is not possible to obtain natural tears, an eye wash method using sterile saline will be employed and the fluid collected using the aforementioned technique. The SELDI-MS process will be conducted on the specimen immediately. The remainder of the tear specimen will be stored in a -80ºC freezer until completely analyzed."