FAU researchers aim to find new ways to detect micrometastases of cancer -
What is the likelihood of a patient developing cancer again after removing a tumor? This is the question that experts in medicine and medical informatics at Friedrich-Alexander-University (FAU) is to find answers to a new research project in which they will micrometastases research that can form new tumors years after cancer of the skin, for example, has been successfully treated. The project will be funded with a total of 1.3 million euros over the next three years.
The cancer can recur even years after successful surgical removal of a tumor. The risk of recurrence varies greatly from person to person and has begun to receive increased attention from doctors. One of the main objectives is to recognize micrometastases that may remain in a patient after surgery and can not be diagnosed using the techniques that are currently available. The concentration of tumor markers - specific biomolecules in blood that can indicate the presence of a tumor - is often just too low for them to be detected. Consequently, malignant cell clusters can remain unknown for years before they start to grow, sometimes reaching dangerous heights in a short period of time.
The FAU researchers now aim to find new ways of detecting these tiny cancerous tumors in their new projetc called 'MelEVIR - melanoma, extracellular vesicles and immune response. " They found that patients who are classified as still being at high risk after surgery to remove skin cancer have a high concentration of extracellular vesicles. These are small droplets surrounded by a membrane that are released by cells in the surrounding tissue. Researchers believe that the vesicles are formed when the immune cells fight tumor cells. Even a small number of vesicles - present in the early stages of tumor growth - can be identified in the blood. The researchers therefore aim to develop methods for counting and characterizing vesicles specifically to enable the risk of developing cancer again identify individual patients.
EmoticonEmoticon