|
Catching Lung Cancer Early
Reported December 07, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) – The discovery of
genetic markers in the blood which indicate early-stage lung tumors could
lead to a simple blood test to detect lung cancer in its earliest phases,
when it can be most successfully treated.
Lung cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in both men and women in
the United States, accounting for 162,000 deaths in 2008, more than any
other cancer.
Detecting cancer at its earliest stages would greatly improve the likelihood
of survival, but no simple and accurate screening test such as mammography
for breast cancer or colonoscopy for colon cancer exists for lung cancer. In
addition, early-stage lung cancers show few symptoms and tend to spread
rapidly before they are found.
Researchers from the University of
Pennsylvania and New York University examined gene expression profiles in
blood samples from more than 200 patients with lung cancer or other,
non-malignant, lung diseases. Focusing on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC),
the researchers sought to determine whether lung tumors—even at the earliest
stages—leave a gene expression signature in circulating blood cells.
For the study, peripheral blood was drawn from lung disease patients at the
University of Pennsylvania Medical Center (Penn) and the New York University
School of Medicine from 2003 through 2007. The research team was able to
identify a 29-gene "signature" that separated 137 patients with NSCLC tumors
from 91 patient controls with non-malignant lung conditions with 86 percent
accuracy.
"People routinely get blood taken at their doctor's offices, for cholesterol
levels, diabetes, and other standard tests, so why not utilize this method
to screen for other conditions such as the risk of developing lung cancer?"
Louise Showe, professor in Wistar's Molecular and Cellular Oncology and
Immunology programs and director of its genomics facility, was quoted as
saying. "Such a test could be especially useful for remote areas where
typically technologies that are used in urban centers are not available. In
addition, this test could be useful in a clinical setting to help to decide
whether a small tumor detected on an x-ray is likely to be malignant."
SOURCE: Cancer Research, December 1, 2009 |
