Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech

Blood Test for Cancer Cells Provides Early Treatment Failure Warning

March 24, 2015 By Institute of Cancer Research

A blood test that measures the number of cells shed from prostate tumors into the bloodstream can act as an early warning sign that treatment is not working, a major new study shows.

Researchers showed that measuring the numbers of circulating tumor cells in the blood predicted which men were benefiting least from a prostate cancer drug after as little as 12 weeks of treatment.

 

They hope their work will allow doctors to switch patients to alternative treatments earlier than is currently possible, if these results are confirmed by further studies. The research could also hasten the development of cancer treatments by speeding up clinical trials, since doctors could tell much earlier whether a treatment is working.

The study was led in the UK by researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and also involved several leading international institutions.

It was funded by a range of organizations including a Medical Research Council biomarkers grant, the companies Janssen Diagnostics, the Prostate Cancer Foundation in the US, and Prostate Cancer UK.

As tumors grow and progress, they shed cancer cells into the bloodstream, some of which can seed new secondary tumors elsewhere in the body. So the researchers wanted to see whether a high number of circulating tumors cells was an indication of a growing tumor that wasn’t responding to treatment, and could predict a lower chance of survival.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology today (Monday), involved the detailed analysis of blood samples from 711 men who took part in a major phase III trial of the prostate cancer drug abiraterone.

Researchers measured numbers of circulating tumor cells at four-week periods after the start of treatment with the drug, along with a range of other biomarker molecules in the blood including lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), high levels of which are a sign of general tissue damage.

The trial itself had used the standard trial end points of average overall survival and survival free of cancer progression to show abiraterone’s effectiveness in late-stage prostate cancer. But the researchers were able to cross-reference those results with data on circulating tumor cells and LDH levels in each man taking part.

They found a correlation between those men who had responded least well to treatment with abiraterone, and higher levels of cancer cells and LDH in the bloodstream, measured 12 weeks after starting treatment. They showed that levels of circulating tumor cells varied independently of a range of other biomarkers.

To prove the effectiveness of a new drug, clinical trials normally need to be run until the cancer is progressing clinically for each patient – and often until many of the patients on the trial have died. But with this new blood test, it might be possible to use circulating tumor cells as an early indicator that a drug is or is not working, and as a predictor of survival.

Study leader Professor Johann de Bono, Professor of Experimental Cancer Therapeutics at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Honorary Consultant at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“The past decade has seen unprecedented success in the development of new drugs for advanced, metastatic prostate cancer. One of the major challenges we face now is in optimizing the use of these new treatments by making sure that the right men receive them, and only for as long as they are benefitting.

“Our study showed that circulating tumor cells act as an early warning test for men who are not responding to treatment – potentially allowing doctors to switch patients early to alternative options. We hope our results will not only lead to better use of the current range of treatments, but also speed up the discovery of new drugs by providing an important new tool to the researchers trialing them.”

Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:

“Using a blood test to assess whether a cancer drug is working would be much easier and more convenient than other methods of monitoring treatment, and might pick up signs that a tumor is not responding weeks or months earlier than is achievable now. It could give doctors a valuable early warning that treatment is not working, and an opportunity to switch the patient promptly to an alternative drug.”

Related Articles Read More >

Prix Galien USA 2022 nominees
The 24 best medical device innovations of 2022
A portrait of Ellen Roche, MIT School of Engineering associate professor
New implant design prevents scar tissue without drugs, MIT says
UMN artificial blood vessel clinical trial
Minnesota researchers awarded $3.7M grant for artificial, bioengineered blood vessel clinical trial
CeQur Simplicity
CeQur is launching a discreet, convenient ‘wearable insulin pen’

DeviceTalks Weekly.

August 12, 2022
DTW – Medtronic’s Mauri brings years of patient care to top clinical, regulatory, scientific post
See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

Enewsletter Subscriptions

Enewsletter Subscriptions

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to E-newsletter
  • Attend our Monthly Webinars
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media LLC. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech