Future invasive biopsies could be replaced with simple blood test
A new genetic test uses techniques developed by a team at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust to identify breast cancer DNA in the blood. By using a technique to detect HER2 amplification in the blood, more women who could benefit from Herceptin therapy could potentially be identified without undergoing invasive biopsies.
To determine the test’s ability to detect HER2 amplification, blood samples from 58 patients with recurrent breast cancer were obtained by researchers. Study results show that 64% of the time the novel technique accurately identified HER2-positive breast cancer. HER2-negative cancer was correctly identified 94% of the time.
In the future, technique modifications could expand the test to other cancer types and drug targets, allowing doctors forgo multiple, invasive biopsies while monitoring tumor changes.
The study is published in Clinical Cancer Research.
Source: ICR.