This test would predict relapse several months before the new tumors are detectable.
A blood test at the experimental stage could help determine whether a woman who suffered from breast cancer is likely to relapse several months before the new tumors are not detectable, according to a study published on Wednesday, August 26, 2015. This method, described in the journal Science Translational Medicine, detects the DNA of cancer cells -Different healthy- cells circulating in the blood. But it should not be accessible to the general public for several years.
This efficient and economical test
Researchers hope it will refine personalized treatments against cancer and, perhaps, to advance the development of a cure. “We demonstrated how a simple blood test has the potential to determine correctly which patients will experience a recurrence of their breast cancer, much earlier than what we can do now”, commented Nicholas Turner, head of the Molecular Oncology team at the Institute of Cancer Research in London.
SAMPLES. To perform this test, scientists first Samples of tumor and blood from 55 patients with breast cancer at an early stage of the disease. Each was treated with chemotherapy and underwent lumpectomy. The test was then carried out for the first time just after surgery, then every six months. Of the fifteen women who experienced a relapse of their cancer, twelve were successfully identified by blood test. And on average eight months before tumors are visible with conventional means of exploration.
According to Mr Turner, some technical challenges remain to be addressed to implement this test but it “is relatively inexpensive and the information it provides could make a real difference for patients suffering from breast cancer”. The diagnosis of cancer breast is done early in 95% of cases, but whether treatment has helped to remove the entire tumor is crucial to prevent relapse and transfer to other parts of the body. “It will take years before this test be available in hospitals, but we hope to bring this horizon in conducting clinical trials much larger from next year,” said Mr. Turner.
