The Boston Globe article "MGH test for cancer gets backing" on January 3, 2011 reports an expected announcement from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital today regarding their work on a cancer screening blood test. In a partnership with Johnson & Johnson, researchers are hoping to turn the blood test from a research tool into a test directly accessible to doctors for patient care. At this stage, the technology is too new and its use limited; but the goal is to find a way to make the test faster and cheaper, increasing its accessibility to the general public.
How the Cancer Blood Test Works
Currently researchers have developed only a prototype of the test, using a type of filter to capture cancer cells within blood and count/analyze them. Right now the filter can pick up, on average, ten cancer cells per milliliter of blood, giving them a tool to track metastatic cancers (cancers that have spread through the bloodstream). Evaluation of the cancer cells allows researchers to identify the effectiveness of treatment by counting the number of cancer cells and determining their genetic makeup. In time, they hope to improve the sensitivity of the test to the point of using it as a screening tool.
Researchers Partner with Veridex LLC
Stand Up to Cancer has earmarked $15 million for testing of the prototype, but with each chip (filter) costing roughly $500 the technology remains too expensive for widespread use. Partnering with Veridex, LLC of Johnson & Johnson will provide the necessary capital and expertise for moving from a research prototype to a consumer product. This $30 million investment is indicative of the test’s promise after testing on only 200 patients.
Potential Uses for Cancer Blood Test
Daniel Haber, Chief of Massachusetts General’s Cancer Center and one of the inventors of the blood test, compares the test to a “liquid biopsy” used in place of much more invasive tissue biopsies. While cancer patients currently have to wait for CT results and pathology reports to determine the course of their cancer treatment, this blood test could potentially allow doctors to decide almost immediately whether a chosen treatment is working or not. Speed and accuracy in detecting a cancer’s type, course, and response to treatment is critical to successfully combating it, which is what has doctors so excited about the test’s potential in clinical practice.
Doctors are not the only ones excited about the blood test for cancer. Ultimately, it is the patients who will benefit most. Eventually, the test may even be developed to the point of using it for screening in place tests like mammograms and colonscopies.
Jennifer Groepl - Living the good life in beautiful Cape Coral, Florida, Jennifer Groepl is currently working on her YA fiction projects. An intrinsically ...
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