molecular imaging techniques combination can help predict the spread of cancer, the survival of patients -
The research combines new molecular imaging techniques to predict the spread cancer patient survival based on aberrant cancer cells in the blood
A simple non-invasive blood test paired with molecular imaging state-of-the-art single cells could help oncologists understand the chances of survival of their patients, say researchers at the Society of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging 2014 annual Meeting.
Metastasis accounts for about 0 percent of cancer deaths. For decades, researchers have tried to develop a way to measure the risk of metastases from a sample of the liquid biopsy long sought a blood cancer. Today, there are many methods available to isolate single cells. New methods recently used to study these cells are radioluminescence microscopy, combining nuclear medicine, optical imaging and autoradiography only one cell (SCAR), used to locate the micro-distribution of radioactive substances in a single cell for the image a particular physiological process, such as a receptor expressing genetic information or an enzyme involved in cellular metabolism.
"We are now beginning to study the properties of these only cancer cells, which could be predictive of different disease states and that understanding could help guide treatment decisions," said Laura S. Sasportas, researcher and Gambhir Lab main PhD student in the department of bioengineering at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif. "the great potential of watching the circulating tumor cells (CTC) was limited primarily by their extreme rarity. for example, in the case breast cancer, CTCs are estimated to be in the order of a few to a few hundred cells among billions of blood cells in a typical 7.5 milliliter blood sample from a patient with cancer. in last decade, however, the CTC research has been booming because of the development of promising new technologies that are sensitive to detect and collect these rare cells in the blood of the patient. "
For this study, the researchers took cells isolated from breast cancer from the blood of small animal models and imaged by microscopy radioluminescence and SCAR with a common molecular imaging radiotracer called F- 18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). This mirrors the energy exchange in the presence of glucose to target some hyper-metabolic cancer cells in these blood samples. results of the research showed that less than three CTC percent of the sample reported increases cellular metabolism relative to the cell line relative cancer. researchers are not yet sure if this indicates an aggressive cancer cell or not. further research is needed and validation in clinical trials to strengthen the theory.
"We hypothesize that the unexplored metabolic characterization of CTCs may provide valuable information for disease surveillance," said Sasportas. "In assessing glucose metabolism of CTCs F-18-FDG, we could better manage the care of cancer patients by improving the choice of treatment and thus avoid unnecessary treatment."
Cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide. It was thought to represent about 8.2 million deaths in 2012, based on current global health organizations statistics. Lung, liver, stomach, colorectal and breast cancer are associated with the highest mortality.
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