NEW DELHI: A simple blood test could soon be available to better diagnose and treat early-stagebreast cancer patients.
In a major breakthrough, published in the British medical journal Lancet, scientists from Texas have announced that they discovered a test that detects circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in the blood. Currently, diagnosis of earlystage breast cancer often relies on lymph-node removal, which can have unpleasant side-effects.
The team identified tumour cells circulating in the blood of patients suffering from spreading (metastatic) breast cancer.
Usually, tumours are believed to spread through lymphatic system rather than bloodstream. Then, the team investigated whether CTCs could be found in the blood of patients at an earlier stage of the disease, where the cancer has not spread beyond its original location (nonmetastatic).
Looking at 302 patients with breast cancer, the researchers identified CTCs in the blood of 24% of the group.
They found that the presence of CTCs accurately predicted both progression-free survival and overall survival, with 15% of the patients who tested positive for CTCs relapsing, and 10% dying during the study period (February, 2005 — December, 2010) as compared to just 3% and 2%, respectively, of patients who did not test positive for CTCs.
For patients with a higher concentration of CTCs (three or more per 7.5ml of blood), the correlation with survival and progression rates was even more dramatic, with 31% of these patients dying or relapsing during the study period.
Lead researcher professor Anthony Lucci from the department of surgical oncology, University of Texas, said, "The findings raise hope that in future, blood tests could be used to provide improved diagnosis and treatment for early-stage breast cancer patients. CTC analysis does not appear in current guidelines for the assessment of cancer patients. These studies identified that both progression-free and overall survival were worse in patients with one or more circulating tumour cells."
He added, "The growing body of published work, including our study, suggests that assessment of circulating tumour cells might provide important prognostic information in these patients." Professor of clinical oncology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, P K Jhulka, said the department is also testing CTCs as a viable option for better diagnosis of breast cancer patients.
"Looking at CTCs in blood is a good method. We too are trying under a department of science and technology project. First, we see CTCs in the blood and then we give chemotherapy. After two-three cycles of chemo, we again assess CTCs which tells us the response of chemo. If CTCs decrease in size and number then it means the tumor cells are responsive to this particular chemo. This is called in vivo response. CTCs are a good test — we only take blood. The patient doesn't need to undergo repeated biopsies to see how much the tumor has responded to chemo," he added.
Breast cancer cases have doubled in India in the last two decades. The number of women estimated to be dying of breast cancer every year has also been steadily rising.
Delhi recorded 24.8 new cases of breast cancer a year per 100,000 women, which rose to 32.2 in 2005.
In a major breakthrough, published in the British medical journal Lancet, scientists from Texas have announced that they discovered a test that detects circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in the blood. Currently, diagnosis of earlystage breast cancer often relies on lymph-node removal, which can have unpleasant side-effects.
The team identified tumour cells circulating in the blood of patients suffering from spreading (metastatic) breast cancer.
Usually, tumours are believed to spread through lymphatic system rather than bloodstream. Then, the team investigated whether CTCs could be found in the blood of patients at an earlier stage of the disease, where the cancer has not spread beyond its original location (nonmetastatic).
Looking at 302 patients with breast cancer, the researchers identified CTCs in the blood of 24% of the group.
They found that the presence of CTCs accurately predicted both progression-free survival and overall survival, with 15% of the patients who tested positive for CTCs relapsing, and 10% dying during the study period (February, 2005 — December, 2010) as compared to just 3% and 2%, respectively, of patients who did not test positive for CTCs.
For patients with a higher concentration of CTCs (three or more per 7.5ml of blood), the correlation with survival and progression rates was even more dramatic, with 31% of these patients dying or relapsing during the study period.
Lead researcher professor Anthony Lucci from the department of surgical oncology, University of Texas, said, "The findings raise hope that in future, blood tests could be used to provide improved diagnosis and treatment for early-stage breast cancer patients. CTC analysis does not appear in current guidelines for the assessment of cancer patients. These studies identified that both progression-free and overall survival were worse in patients with one or more circulating tumour cells."
He added, "The growing body of published work, including our study, suggests that assessment of circulating tumour cells might provide important prognostic information in these patients." Professor of clinical oncology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, P K Jhulka, said the department is also testing CTCs as a viable option for better diagnosis of breast cancer patients.
"Looking at CTCs in blood is a good method. We too are trying under a department of science and technology project. First, we see CTCs in the blood and then we give chemotherapy. After two-three cycles of chemo, we again assess CTCs which tells us the response of chemo. If CTCs decrease in size and number then it means the tumor cells are responsive to this particular chemo. This is called in vivo response. CTCs are a good test — we only take blood. The patient doesn't need to undergo repeated biopsies to see how much the tumor has responded to chemo," he added.
Breast cancer cases have doubled in India in the last two decades. The number of women estimated to be dying of breast cancer every year has also been steadily rising.
Delhi recorded 24.8 new cases of breast cancer a year per 100,000 women, which rose to 32.2 in 2005.
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