Promising new 'liquid biopsy' blood test could improve cancer treatment

New blood test could improve cancer treatment

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published 20 April 2015

Doctors are hopeful that a new blood test, called a "liquid biopsy," could dramatically improve the way they monitor and administer cancer treatment. Utilizing new, highly sensitive techniques, the test detects cancer DNA in the bloodstream. The idea to monitor cancer this way grew out of the discovery made years ago that fetuses give off DNA fragments into the mother's bloodstream. As it turns out, all growing cells — including tumors — shed tiny DNA fragments. Though more evaluations of the test's reliability are needed, the early results are promising:

A National Cancer Institute study published this month in The Lancet Oncology, involving 126 patients with the most common form of lymphoma, found the test predicted recurrences more than three months before they were noticeable on CT scans. The liquid biopsies also identified patients unlikely to respond to therapy. [The New York Times]

Because the new test is much less invasive than a traditional biopsy, doctors could monitor progress more regularly, decide quickly if a treatment is working or not, and abandon ineffective treatments, sparing the patients grueling side effects. Dr. José Baselga, physician in chief and chief medical officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center said, “I cannot do a weekly liver biopsy and see how things are going, but I can do a blood test every week.”