By Admin at 4 Jan 2016, 10:39 AM

Surgical biopsies are often used to diagnose and monitor cancers, but they have limitations. For starters, it’s typically not advisable to conduct multiple biopsies, especially in a short period of time, and even if it was it may be cost prohibitive to do so.

Securing a less invasive, more affordable option to monitor cancer development and its response to treatment in real time would therefore be invaluable to improve survival rates. Now researchers have found such a method, dubbed “liquid biopsy,” which could change the future of cancer care.

Tumors shed DNA into the patient’s bloodstream. This circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can be detected via a blood test. In a recent study conducted by researchers at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, it was found that such liquid biopsies tracked cancer development just as well as surgical biopsy.

The study involved a patient with breast cancer that had spread to other organs. By tracking ctDNA with blood tests, the researchers were able to track mutations in the cancer even as it spread as well as identify tumor areas that were resistant to therapy. Study author Professor Carlos Caldas told Medical News Today:

“This definitively shows that we can use blood-based DNA tests to track the progress of cancer in real time. The findings could change the way we monitor patients, and may be especially important for people with cancers that are difficult to reach, as taking a biopsy can sometimes be quite an invasive procedure."

Perhaps best of all, the liquid biopsy may help doctors to track a cancer’s development in real time, allowing them to tweak treatment plans accordingly. More research is needed before the tests will be widely available, however the emerging research is promising. Caldas continued:

“We were able to use the blood tests to map out the disease as it progressed. We now need to see if this works in more patients and other cancer types, but this is an exciting first step.”

One company, Pathway Genomics, has even released a liquid biopsy test that’s used to detect 96 genetic markers associated with cancers such as breast, ovarian, lung, colon and melanoma. The test, which is only available to order through a doctor, is meant to be given to healthy people in order to find early markers of cancer.

The test is controversial, however, as it could lead to false positives, may give people a false sense of security (as it may fail to detect other cancers) and may also provide information that may not yet be useful to improving health. As NBC News recently reported:

“ … the move by Pathway, a privately owned maker of genetic tests ranging from cancer risk and heart health to drug response, underscores a growing debate over how much genetic information should be made available to healthy people if it is not yet clear how it can improve their health.”

Sources: 

Nature Communication November 4, 2015
Medical News Today November 4, 2015 
NBC News September 10, 2015

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