WORLD FIRST LIQUID BIOPSY FOR BLOOD CANCER DEVELOPED IN OZ

WORLD FIRST LIQUID BIOPSY FOR BLOOD CANCER DEVELOPED IN OZ

Mohammed Nizar, 5th Pharm.D

Peter macCllum cancer center,Victoria Australia

The liquid biopsy for blood cancer developed by associate professor sarah-jane dawson & Mark dawn, Australia, promising a new era of less invasive more precious and effective management of blood cancers, In place of painful bone marrow or lymph node biopsies.

The latest innovation from the Dawson laboratories showing clinical application of liquid biopsies in case of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. The test involve monitoring of tiny fragments of DNA emitted from cancer cell into the blood stream, called circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA). Unlike the traditional biopsies , ctDNA test track disease status throughout the body, can be used at any time of cancer treatment and also enabling rapid adjustment if patient relapses or failed to respond a particular therapy. It will also help to more rapidly advance the availability of new precision medicines and therapies as there developed.

The test enabling the clinicians and patients more timely and accurate understanding of whether a cancer treatment is working or not. It gives the scientists, the ability to quickly and effectively evaluate the clinical trial patient are responding to new life saving therapies. One of the major limitation of the current approach in the management of blood cancers is Intra tumour heterogeneity, That exist between the individual cells that make up any cancer. Thus a single tissue biopsies from the bone marrow or lymph node does not accurately composite the whole tumour as there is significant variation.

The cancer cells from all disease site within the body shed their DNA into the blood stream, those ctDNA collected from a routine blood sample more accurately mirrors the disease across all part of the body. Thus ctDNA test for blood cancer provide a much more comprehensive evidence on patients responds to the treatment. The new test assuring patient will receive more personalised treatment and have a breakthrough that will contribute to less treatment related toxicity and more patient driven clinical care.

The ctDNA test from Peter Mac will available to patients within Australia from late 2017 and are expected to become a standard clinical tool near future. Peter Mac continue to develop its ctDNA expertise and technology so that the test can be further refined and applied across more cancer types.

Reference:

petermac.org [Internet].Melbourne:Peter MacCallum Cancer
Centre;2017.Available
from:https://www.petermac.org/news/world-first-liquid-biopsy-blood-cancers-promises-less-invasive-more-precise-and-effective/.