India leads breakthrough study on cancer detection

India leads breakthrough study on cancer detection

PUNE: In what could potentially be a breakthrough in cancer detection and diagnosis, scientists from India, US and UK have found clinical evidence for an innovative test that can detect clusters of cancer cells in the blood. The test makes cancer screening easier, efficient and affordable.

A study on this topic was recently published and the test will soon be available commercially, said researchers from India. Commenting on the study, the study’s principal author Dr Dadasaheb Akolkar, who is Research Director at Datar Cancer Genetics, termed this research as a first of its kind, which investigates the prevalence of circulating tumour emboli or Circulating Ensembles of Tumour-Associated Cells (C-ETACs) in over 16,000 participants to establish the definitive new systemic hallmark of cancer.

BREAKTHROUGH
“The technique we have used is a breakthrough innovation. When clusters of cells break off from an early-stage tumour and enter the bloodstream, we can efficiently and accurately isolate a few hundred malignant cells from more than 100 million cells using just 10 ml of blood. While almost all cancer samples had these cell clusters, they were seen in very few of the samples, which were apparently without cancer,” said Dr Akolkar.

The study involved 16,134 participants, including 5,509 patients with cancer and 10,625 individuals with no symptoms and the test has shown an accuracy of more than 94 per cent. The C-ETACs were seen in 89.8 per cent of cases and in only 3 per cent of apparently healthy, asymptomatic individuals who had no abnormal findings in presently used screening tests.

CURRENT TECHNIQUES
Early detection of cancer is crucial but challenging because of the lack of efficient and reliable screening methods. Most of the commercially available cancer-screening tests are invasive and expensive. The currently-available cancer screening techniques such as mammograms and low-dose CT scans carry radiation risks, colonoscopies are invasive, blood-based markers are non-specific and tissue biopsies for diagnosis have the same risks as general surgical procedures.

Speaking on the breakthrough study and technique, Datar Cancer Genetics Chairman and Managing Director Rajan Datar said that cancer is rapidly becoming a civilisational challenge. Cancer deaths are mainly because of late detection. “We believe that this blood-based test is a breakthrough in cancer screening and will impact outcomes through easy, patient-friendly detection and diagnosis in apparently healthy people, who may have a silent malignancy in their bodies,” he said. 

He added that it has the potential to eliminate the need for invasive biopsies and the risks associated with it.

Enjoyed reading The Bridge Chronicle?
Your support motivates us to do better. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay updated with the latest stories.
You can also read on the go with our Android and iOS mobile app.

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
The Bridge Chronicle
www.thebridgechronicle.com