A new blood test can detect changes in cancer cells, which will help doctors determine if a patient's treatment is working. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston have found that placing just a teaspoon of blood on a device called a CTC-chip, is enough for scientists to view tumour cells circulating in the bloodstream. The cells can be counted to determine if a patient's drug therapy is working, and can be observed for mutations. "The CTC-chip opens up a whole new field of studying tumours in real time," Dr. Daniel Haber, director of the MGH Cancer Center and the study's senior author, said in a statement.
"When the device is ready for larger clinical trials, it should give us new options for measuring treatment response, defining prognostic and predictive measures, and studying the biology of blood-borne metastasis, which is the primary method by which cancer spreads and becomes lethal."
The researchers studied this test on lung cancer patients and found that it could accurately detect changes in cancer cells. Their research is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The next area of study will be to determine the accuracy of the test by using it on patients with a variety of different cancers. If successful, doctors would be able to find out in a few days whether a patient is responding to treatment.
"If tumour genotypes don't remain static during therapy, it's essential to know exactly what you're treating at the time you are treating it," Haber said. "Biopsy samples taken at the time of diagnosis can never tell us about changes emerging during therapy or genotypic differences that may occur in different sites of the original tumour, but the CTC-chip offers the promise of noninvasive continuous monitoring."
1 comment:
I have been cured through Dr Utu African Traditional roots and herbs.
Why so many people don't succeed in better health is because they have the belief that herbal medicines are primitive and outdated they took time ⌚ in thinking and having much doubt in herbs that can actually better their health naturally. Do you know that thinking and doubting won't solve your health problems?yes of course it won't solve it All you've to do is to stand up again and make the best move in your life. African herbs cures HIV, HSV, CANCERS, INFERTILITY, ASTHMA, PARALYSIS, DIABETES Try a reliable herbalist like Dr Utu and tell him your symptoms and feelings on;
drutuherbalcure@gmail.com
CALLING +2347032718477
WHATSAPP LINE +2347032718477
Post a Comment