Diagnosis Articles: Page 1 of 1

MesotheliomaHelp has reported multiple times on the ongoing research to use liquid biopsies or blood samples to detect and manage the treatment of cancer. The non-invasive approach is easier on patients and can return results more quickly. Now, researchers report they have developed a tool that can look at a blood sample and determine whether cancer is present and its point of origin.

Find out more about research using blood tests here and here.

Researchers from The University of California, Los Angeles are using their proprietary tool CancerLocator to detect circulating cell-free DNA and to look at the genome-wide DNA methylation profile to detect cancer, according to a March 24 article in GenomeWeb. The tool, in effect, cross checks the DNA methylation data against a database the team developed that contains information about methylation markers common across cancers and specific to certain tissues, in seven cancers, including lung tissue.

“We have developed a computer-driven test that can detect cancer, and also identify the type of cancer, from a single blood sample,” said lead researcher Jasmine Zhou, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA.

During the study, the team found that the CancerLocator outperformed both the random forest and support vector machine standard algorithms in simulated data as well as with live cancer data. The test was also effective for detecting early-stage cancers.

Research shows that metastasis is the cause of nearly 90 percent of cancer deaths. Stopping tumor growth and preventing metastasis is critical, especially for mesothelioma and lung cancer where the diseases are highly aggressive. This can only be achieved if the cancer is detected early.

Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer caused by past exposure to asbestos, is highly aggressive and is resistant to many cancer treatments making it a difficult disease to treat effectively. The prognosis for mesothelioma patients is usually grim: the average survival time varies from 4 – 18 months after diagnosis. Early detection can mean prolonged survival.

Although there are various cancer screening tools available, such as the colonoscopy for colon cancer, many of the tests are invasive and painful for the patients. However, in this case, there is no reliable method for early detection of the deadly mesothelioma cancer.

Zhou notes that with CancerLocator “the higher the fraction of tumor DNAs in blood, the more accurate the program was at producing a diagnostic result. Therefore, tumors in well­-circulated organs, such as the liver or lungs, are easier to diagnose early using this approach than in less­-circulated organs such as the breast.”

“The technology is in its infancy and requires further validation, but the potential benefits to patients are huge,” said Zhou.

Each year nearly 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma. The key to increased life expectancy when battling this cancer is early detection.

Read the full study in the March 24 issue of Genome Biology.

I remember the phone call so vividly: walking into the gym after a long day at work. My phone rang, and I just knew it was my mother. We were supposed to get Dad’s diagnosis at the end of the week – sure enough it was Friday and here she was calling. I dropped my bag, answered my phone, and bam, there it was. Mesothelioma. I froze. What was this? Neither my mom nor I had a clue as to what this cancer was all about.

I don’t remember if I was more scared and upset by Dad definitely having cancer, or by having no idea what my dad would go through with yet another type of cancer in his lifetime. I picked my gym bag back up and went straight home.

I talked to my mother on my way home. We cried, I listened to her tell me what the doctors said, and we took turns voicing our concerns. To my surprise, despite the news he got that day, Dad still went to work. I don’t know how my father has the strength that he has, I only hope it rubs off on me somehow because at that point I felt defeated. That night I decided to stay put in Philly at my place with my roommates. They gave me comfort that night and helped me to think through things logically, which in turn gave me strength.

Having fought cancer in the past, Dad assumed that once again he could stay in the comfort of his own home and local town for treatment. This was not an option since his past oncologist only worked with patients who had melanoma, and there were no oncologists in his hometown that specialized in mesothelioma. At first we thought that a doctor who treated lung cancer could treat him, but this was also not an option.

After an initial appointment with our family doctor, he recommended doctors in New York City and Philadelphia. This was very overwhelming to Dad because that meant traveling to one of the cities, long drives, traffic and more time off work. This was a lot to consider. My mother and I were very scared and stressed with waiting for a decision as to where to go. Dad did his research and listened to our family doctor about both places, as did my mom and I.

After researching both locations, the final decision was the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. We chose Abramson mostly because of their great reputation, and the fact that they could get Dad in for his first appointment much sooner than Memorial Sloane-Kettering in NYC.  Plus I live in Philadelphia, so if my parents really needed a place to stay, they could stay with me.

After Dad’s first appointment, the doctors were aware of what they were facing and could have a conversation about treatment options. The process of treatment happened very quickly and my father began his fight with this horrible cancer. Throughout this whole experience our family’s mindset and goal was to get Dad the best treatment out there.

I can say that Dad is in very good hands and his team of doctors has been wonderful from the beginning. They continue to provide the best possible treatment and are very thorough when explaining what their plan is and how each and every appointment goes.

Check back next week for what treatments my dad went through, and how he fared throughout them all.

Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.

In September, Duke researchers warned cancer patients of the potential of developing blood clots, or venous thromboembolism (VTE), during treatment, and up to one year after receiving chemotherapy. Now, the SAVE-ONCO study, funded by Sanofi, reports that in patients who were treated with an experimental form of heparin the risk of developing a blood clot was reduced by 65%. For mesothelioma patients facing other life-threatening complications, the addition of a blood thinner, such as heparin, to their treatment regimen may make a difference in their prognosis.

Low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) is often used during surgical procedures to limit the risk of VTE. However, many doctors are hesitant to use heparin during other forms of treatment for fear that the risk of bleeding complications outweighs the risk of a patient having a VTE.

In an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, Drs. Elie Akl and Holger Schünemann of McMaster University discussed the potential benefits of adding ultra-low-molecular-weight heparin semuloparin during cancer treatment. The doctors referred to the results of the SAVE-ONCO study where patients receiving chemotherapy were also given a preventive dose of the medicine once daily for just over three months. The study demonstrated the benefits of the drug “without increase in major bleeding.”

The two doctors reported that the SAVE-ONCO study, taken together with prior similar studies, confirm their conclusion of “a likely small survival benefit” from the use of the drug.

The pair of doctors estimated “if 1,000 patients with cancer were to use a prophylactic dose of LMWH, approximately 30 would avert death, 20 would avert a clotting complication and one would suffer a major bleeding episode over a 12-month period.”

They added that daily injections of the LMWH could avert hospitalizations, and potentially, increase survival.

Duke researchers reported in their study that the average increase in costs associated with a VTE was $35,000 over patients without blood clots.  Some doctors estimate that mesothelioma treatment already costs anywhere from $150,000 to $1 million. The added expense would place an undue, additional financial burden on the patients.

Akl and Schünemann added that patients looking for survival from their cancer will be faced with “some uncertainty” with the benefit from LMWH. They also added that more research is needed and “they are planning a sophisticated analysis of the published trials.”

Mesothelioma is a unique cancer affecting the lining of the lungs, and other organs, due to past exposure to asbestos. Treatment varies for the disease, depending on the stage of the cancer, but often involves surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year.