An international team of scientists led by Vanderbilt University researchers has devised a new method for detecting "cell-free" tumor DNA in the bloodstream of prostate cancer patients — pointing the way toward development of a “liquid biopsy” that could transform cancer screening.
Lead research William Mitchell, M.D. — worked with colleagues in Germany and Canada — said the new approach could improve cancer diagnostics to both predict treatment outcomes and monitor patient responses to therapy.
In a large study of 400 blood samples (half of whom came from cancer patients), the researchers showed that the method could accurately distinguish between those taken from prostate cancer and those provided by healthy individuals — with three times the sensitivity of current prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening (84 percent).
"Based on the reported data and work in progress, I believe the 'liquid biopsy' will revolutionize cancer diagnostics, not only before a patient begins therapy but also following patient responses to therapy," said Dr. Mitchell, who reported his findings in the journal Clinical Chemistry.
The researchers reported similar results in a study of breast cancer at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.
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