A new blood test can tell doctors how active a patient’s cancer is at any given time, allowing for more effective treatment.
University of Manchester senior lecturer Rebecca Lee said by monitoring the level of cancer activity in the blood, doctors could identify the best time to start and stop the drugs to give treatment breaks.
Dr Lee, who is also a consultant oncologist and clinician scientist in the United Kingdom, said it was hoped this new test would prevent resistance to treatment developing and reduce side effects.
“This experimental blood test could help people with stage 4 melanoma, a type of skin cancer, live longer,” she said.
Dr Lee said the ground-breaking approach looked for tiny fragments of DNA coming from the cancer, which could be found in the patient’s blood.
“Cancer treated with targeted therapy can be thought of as two armies of cells; those that are sensitive to the treatment and those that are resistant, which fight for nutrients in order to grow.
“A patient does not want either cell army to win as that means their cancer will get worse.”
She said although the targeted therapy could kill the sensitive cells, over time the resistant ones grow through.
“However, if treatment breaks are given, it is thought that the growth of these resistant cells can be suppressed by the sensitive cells.
“This blood test enables us to develop a new approach to overcome resistance to targeted therapy treatment.”
