New hope for cancer care as lab cracks tricky biopsy
The test facilitates detection of mutation where there is difficulty of obtaining biopsy
ABengaluru-based laboratory has claimed to have cracked the difficulties related to tracing malignant cells and avoid repeated biopsies.
Doctors often are forced to conduct repeated biopsy tests to detect certain types of cancers related to skin, lung and colon.
But with the new method — liquid biopsy test — developed for the first time in India by MedGenome, a genomicsbased research and diagnostics company, physicians can identify genetic alterations, interpret, assess and treat various forms of cancer, the company said.
The test has also been validated in a scientific study, in academic collaboration with Tata Memorial Centre Hospital (TMH), Mumbai, and its state-of-the-art & satellite Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (Actrec).
The test facilitates detection of mutation where there is difficulty of obtaining biopsy or in the event of a damaged biopsy material and non-availability of tissue biopsy.
The development assumes significance in view of the fact that by 2020 India may have an estimated 1.73 million new cases of cancer and over 880,000 cancer deaths.
Advanced stage
Around 70 per cent of all cancer patients approach the doctor only when the symptoms noticeably appear and the chances of cure are very low as the by then disease has advanced.
“Management of cancer will undergo a massive transformation in India with NGS [next generation sequencing]based liquid biopsies. We are constantly striving to get the most advanced genetic testing technology/technique at affordable prices to the patients and Oncotrack is one such offering,” said Sam Santhosh, MedGenome Chairman.
Dr Kumar Prabhash, Medical Oncologist at TMH, says: “As the care gets more personalised, doctors will be equipped to make correct diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of diseases. Cell-free tumour DNA (ctDNA) analysis will help in avoiding repeat biopsies of difficult-to-get tumours and also in monitoring the overall response to treatment on real time basis.”
In medical terms, the liquid biopsy-based test is a non-invasive screening that analyses cell-free DNA that is isolated from the patients’ blood. Using high-end sequencing technology, the screening process identifies specific gene mutations that are linked with melanoma, lung and colon cancers.