Promising Method For Early Diagnosis Of Cancer

Promising Method For Early Diagnosis Of Cancer.
A collaboration of US scientists and non-public companies are looking into a assay that could find even one stray cancer stall among the billions of cells that circulate in the human bloodstream. The hope is that one day such a test, given soon after a healing is started, could indicate whether the therapy is working or not. It might even indicate beforehand which remedying would be most effective. The test relies on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) - cancer cells that have disjoined from the main tumor and are traveling to other parts of the body.

In 2007, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, developed a "microfluidic chip," called CellSearch, which could calculate the number of singular cancer cells, but that test didn't allow scientists to trap whole cells and analyze them. But on Monday, Mass General announced an bargain with Veridex LLC, involvement of Johnson & Johnson, to study a newer version of the test.

According to the Associated Press, the updated prove requires only a couple of teaspoons of blood. The microchip is dotted with tens of thousands of paltry posts covered with antibodies designed to stick to tumor cells. As blood passes over the chip, tumor cells divided from the pack and adhere to the posts.