Release date: 2017-05-10
Last week, the news of "blood cancer" broke the circle of friends. However, Xiao Bian wants to say that "drip blood cancer measurement" is not rigorous, but the use of blood to carry out cancer-related research and the breakthrough results obtained should be affirmed. Well-known international journals such as Nature have also frequently published the application prospects of blood circulation tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA in the fields of cancer monitoring and prognosis. On May 3, British researchers demonstrated a blood test in the Annals of Oncology magazine that can be used to distinguish which prostate cancer patients can benefit from targeted therapies. 
Use blood tests to determine which therapy is appropriate for cancer patients
Overall, the core of this study is: By detecting the androgen receptor gene copy number in the patient's blood, the response of prostate cancer patients to targeted therapy can be judged. The method used is ddPCR.
The study, led by Gerhardt Attard of the British Cancer Institute, involved 265 patients with advanced prostate cancer. The researchers measured the androgen receptor gene copy number of these patients, which are present in the patient's blood circulation tumor DNA and are related to patient survival. The researchers found that the ddPCR assay quantifies the status of androgen receptors in the blood, and both androgen receptor-positive patients have poor overall survival and progression-free survival.
Androgen receptors are known to play a key role in the development and progression of prostate cancer. Enzalutamide and abiraterone are androgen receptor inhibitors that have a significant effect on metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients. Of the more than 200 patients, 171 were treated with abiraterone or enzalutamide prior to docetaxel chemotherapy, and 98 were treated with abiraterone or enzalutamide after docetaxel chemotherapy.
The researchers collected ddPCR data from these patients and second-generation sequencing data, and found that the two groups of data showed consistent conclusions on copy number and the frequency of androgen receptor allele mutations.
They also found that the incidence of plasma androgen receptor abnormalities was higher in men who received chemotherapy. Further studies have found that increased plasma androgen receptor copy number is associated with poor overall outcome and progression-free survival in patients who have received chemotherapy or who have not received chemotherapy. During the study period, patients who had doubled the androgen receptor gene copy number increased their risk of death by a factor of four.
It is worth noting that the research team also reached similar conclusions in another separate study cohort. The study involved a total of 94 patients whose plasma was collected prior to treatment with enzalutamide. The results of the trial again showed that an increase in androgen receptors was significantly associated with a lower overall survival.
The new method is low in cost and low in clinical threshold, but still needs to be verified
In addition to focusing on the problems that technology can solve, clinical attention also pays attention to the cost of technology. Because the clinical is for most patients, if the price is too high, it is not conducive to the popularity of technology applications. However, according to the researchers, this technology has the advantage of “double low†– low cost and low clinical threshold.
Researchers believe that ddPCR detection can be relatively easy to enter clinical laboratories. Attard said, “Our method costs less than $50 and can produce results quickly, and is expected to be completed in the hospital's laboratory through the National Health Insurance system. We expect this method to be evaluated early in clinical trials and become standard care for patients. Part."
The authors said in a statement that they have developed a powerful test method that can be used in clinics to identify which patients with advanced prostate cancer may respond to abiraterone and enzalutamide treatment, and which patients may require additional treatment. method.
However, the researchers point out that this method does not control the amount of DNA in the plasma and may therefore cause some bias. In addition, the scale of this study is small enough to change the current treatment method, and more research is needed to verify.
Source: Bio-Exploration
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