A research team at the University of Gdańsk and the Medical University of Gdańsk has developed a diagnostic method to identify oncogenic mutations in individual cells to detect potential cancer recurrence.
Pioneering Detection of Circulating Cancer Cells
A team led by Dr. Aleksandra Markiewicz from the Department of Translational Oncology has engineered a technique to detect oncogenic mutations within the DNA of individual cells. This project is part of the “Eureka! Discovering Polish Inventions” competition organized by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
Solid tumors, such as breast cancer, can recur even after removal. Single cancer cells can detach and travel through the bloodstream, potentially forming distant metastases. Identifying these cells in the blood is vital for detecting early-stage recurrence before traditional imaging methods like CT scans can identify a tumor.
Challenges in Precision Oncology
Cancer cells in the bloodstream are extremely rare, with only a few detected among five billion normal cells in a typical five-milliliter sample. Assessing these cells for specific mutations is critical for making informed therapeutic decisions.
The new method captures these circulating cells and amplifies their genome to provide sufficient material for testing. Researchers then multiply specific genes associated with breast cancer mutations, which may indicate whether a tumor is susceptible to particular drug treatments.
Future Diagnostic Scope
While the methodology is promising, the researcher notes that there are currently no clinical trials confirming that therapy can be effectively selected based solely on mutations in circulating cancer cells. This remains a burgeoning field of study.
The current diagnostic panel covers 32 mutations across six genes. The team aims to expand this panel, as increasing the number of tracked mutations will improve the accuracy of classifying cells as cancerous rather than misidentifying healthy cells.