When cancer is diagnosed, doctors usually have different treatment options to indicate. Now, with the advancement of liquid biopsies from blood samples of patients, the most appropriate therapy could be chosen or replaced sooner if it does not work well.
This week at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, the results of one of the largest studies on liquid biopsies were presented. These tests do not involve aspiration or removal of tissue of patients as in conventional biopsies, which may require a needle or surgery. Besides, liquid biopsies are less painful, because they are not invasive, because they only use the blood sample of patients to screen for DNA of tumor cells. From that tumor DNA, mutations for each patient has can be traced and also the progression of the disease c an be monitored while the patient receives treatment.
The study showed «the veracity of the liquid biopsy approach» said Philip Mack, director of Molecular Pharmacology at the Integrative Cancer Center at the University of California Davis, USA, who presented the results at the conference. The work considered the results of more than 15,000 liquid biopsies from patients who had already been diagnosed with 50 types of cancers, including lung, breast and colon. This test costs $ 5,800 and allows tracking mutations related to cancer genes.
The results of liquid biopsies were directly compared with 400 conventional biopsies of patients. In certain cases, if there was a mutation in the blood, it was also identified in more than 94% of the tumors. «It was a concordance study to see if the results of liquid biopsies are representative of conventional biopsies. The results were positive and showed that liquid biopsies could be useful in cases where there are already identified mutations. Obtaining solid biopsies may present problems to preserve tissue samples. The liquid biopsy could overcome the problem of preserving samples, but it can be more expensive , and scientists will need to demonstrate a greater sensitivity to not report false negatives, «said molecular biologist Yanina Powazniak, technical director of Biomarkers, that will soon carry out a study on liquid biopsies in Argentina.
«The liquid biopsy is a huge step forward for the implementation of customized therapies. To prescribe therapies, doctors need to get tissues patient’s body, often difficult in patients with lung cancer. Therefore, the liquid biopsy is an enormous opportunity because it allows us to study the molecular changes in the blood instead of using a biopsied tissue, and thus allow to offer patients a more personalized treatment”, said Claudio Martin, head thoracic oncology at the Alexander Fleming Institute and physician Maria Ferrer Hospital at Buenos Aires. There is still much to be investigated, but there are high expectations because biopsies could supply a large market. There are already 12 companies that develop or offer liquid biopsies. Last week, the US health authority approved the first liquid biopsy test to be used in up to 20% of patients with lung cancer cells, in combination with a drug that is already authorized.
In Argentina they are used for lung and colon tumors
In Argentina, liquid biopsies for patients with lung and colon cancer are already being done. .»Biopsies are used to identify mutations in patients already diagnosed with cancer. Possibly to determine the sensitivity to treatment or the resistance of tumor cells. With biopsy results, doctors can change treatments earlier. Cancer will become chronic”, said Juan José Capria, medical director of the company Agronomics. This company recently received a grant from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to incorporate the first PCR digital device in the country, to be used when biopsies are done with maximum sensitivity.
Source: http://www.clarin.com/sociedad/Avanzan-biopsias- liquidas-monitorearcancer_0_1591041062.html
