Fwd: Liquid biopsy

'liquid biopsy and through recent and very expensive techniques the doctors might only need a blood sample in order to test for cancer DNA in the body. The test is able to find tiny traces of such DNA material in the patient's blood.

The thing with the blood draw is that it bears benefits for both the patient and the doctor; the patient goes to less trouble than undergoing a traditional biopsy or even a CT scan; and the oncologist can be sure about the efficiency of a treatment and it offers a more stable monitoring tool. If the treatment appears to be failing, oncologists will know to abandon it quicker, sparing the patient of unnecessary side effects and offering the possibility of trying out better alternatives...

The largest study so far used the test on 126 lymphoma patients – a study conducted by the National Cancer Institute. The results were published in The Lancet Oncology. Apparently, the test was so accurate that it could predict the reappearance of cancer with up to 3 months before CT scans could finally detect them.'

 

http://www.wallstreetotc.com/liquid-biopsies-offer-new-promises-in-cancer-detection-and-monitoring/217450/