Cancer cell-detecting blood test may spare patients unnecessary chemotherapy

A blood test which detects traces of cancer cells may spare thousands of patients unnecessary chemotherapy each year.

A major bowel cancer trial, which will recruit around 1,600 patients, is examining whether the new test can confirm whether surgery has removed all of the tumour – doctors say 50 per cent of patients with stage 3 bowel cancer are cured by surgery alone so the use of chemotherapy means many patients are being over-treated.

The blood test works by searching for microscopic traces of cancer in the bloodstream called circulating tumour DNA, which would be invisible on a scan.  The presence of these markers indicates whether the patient has been cured by their surgery.

Dr Naureen Starling, principal investigator in the trial, says the outcome could affect the way thousands of bowel cancer patients are treated every year.

She added “Half of patients with stage 3 bowel cancer are cured by surgery alone, so we are over-treating a large proportion of patients.”

Speaking of the hope that this specialised technology could spare many cancer patients unnecessary chemotherapy, she said “That’s good for the patient, it’s good for the health service, it’s good for cost savings within the NHS.  That would be a win-win.”

Trial are also underway in the UK to monitor patients with breast and lung cancer in the same way.

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (karenmotley@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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