Promising Method For Early Diagnosis Of Cancer

Promising Method For Early Diagnosis Of Cancer.
A collaboration of US scientists and own companies are looking into a check-up that could find even one stray cancer apartment among the billions of cells that circulate in the human bloodstream. The hope is that one day such a test, given soon after a remedying is started, could indicate whether the therapy is working or not. It might even indicate beforehand which care would be most effective. The test relies on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) - cancer cells that have disinterested 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 reckon the number of diverge cancer cells, but that test didn't allow scientists to trap whole cells and analyze them. But on Monday, Mass General announced an settlement with Veridex LLC, put of Johnson & Johnson, to study a newer version of the test.

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