UCL Cancer Institute
Counting the number of tumour cells in blood samples taken before and after treatment for advanced neuroendocrine tumours could provide a 'snapshot' of how well patients are responding within weeks of starting treatment, according to results from a study being presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology cancer conference today (Monday). The study, coordinated by researchers from the Cancer Research UK and NIHR Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) at UCL Cancer Institute, is the largest of its kind and the first to demonstrate how monitoring cancer cells circulating in the blood can be used to predict treatment success for this rare cancer-type, which most commonly affects the gut or pancreas. Patients found to have circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in the blood at the start of treatment were around eight times more likely to die from their disease, compared to those with undetectable CTC levels. Study leader Tim Meyer, who directs UCL ECMC, said: "By using state-of-the-art technology to count individual tumour cells circulating in the blood stream, we've been able to show how a simple blood test could help monitor treatment response and predict how fast the disease will progress. Doctors normally rely on CT or MRI scans to tell them if a treatment is working, but cutting-edge CTC testing can provide an overall snapshot of the tumour's development, without the need to wait for changes in its size to become visible on scans. By using state-of-the-art technology to count individual tumour cells circulating in the blood stream, we've been able to show how a simple blood test could help monitor treatment response and predict how fast the disease will progress.
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