Glacier Bay, Alaska
Do you know what a “metabolite” is? Well, like me you probably could guess that
is something that has to do with metabolism – the messy and biochemically
complicated way that we turn thing like berries, butter, bread and bacon into the
energy that runs our bodies and the stuff that makes them up. The products of metabolism are known as metabolites. How a biochemist would categorize them is
something I don’t know – but it is pretty clear from this article that they are
not proteins.
So, anyway, people at Georgia Tech have used some clever
chemistry and computational tricks to recognize a group of 16 metabolites that
are elevated in ovarian cancer patients, but not in the rest of the
population. They attained a specificity
of over 90%, meaning that the test was 90% accurate in distinguishing women
with cancer from women without cancer. And
the really good news is: The cancer
patients were in either stage 1 or stage 2 – meaning that metastasis had not
begun. As always, more testing is
required, but still – maybe we have here the Holy Grail: genuine early detection.
The Georgia Tech test would operate from a simple blood
sample. The group I attempted to help at
Fred Hutch also sought a blood test, but they were looking at proteins exclusively (I believe. Remember, I’m just a dumb geologist.) Some proteins definitely are elevated in ovarian cancer patients – CA125 and HE4 are examples. Sadly, they don’t rise until the cancer is fairly far advanced. Our work seems to have fizzled out. I will keep an eye on these Georgia Tech people. I am encouraged.
Fred Hutch also sought a blood test, but they were looking at proteins exclusively (I believe. Remember, I’m just a dumb geologist.) Some proteins definitely are elevated in ovarian cancer patients – CA125 and HE4 are examples. Sadly, they don’t rise until the cancer is fairly far advanced. Our work seems to have fizzled out. I will keep an eye on these Georgia Tech people. I am encouraged.
There is more than one way to skin a cat. (That’s an ugly phrase from my boyhood; I promise not to use it again.) Anyway, research workers from industry and academia report that it is possible to obtain vital cancer information from analysis of blood samples, information that heretofore would have required a biopsy, with little loss in accuracy. The gist: they look for fragments of cancer DNA/ This of course constitutes an enormous net gain in comfort, at least partially offset by increased anxiety in the case of false positives. More work is in progress, and Pharma is lining up to facilitate the process – and of course profit thereby. Roche already has a similar test approved by the FDA; its price-tag currently is stupendous, but may decrease with more competition. Stay tuned.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/05/health/liquid-cancer-test-offers-hope-for-alternative-to-painful-biopsies.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
Now here's a weird one.
ReplyDeletehttp://ovariancancer.newlifeoutlook.com/effects-teeth/?keywords=ovarian+teeth&utm_medium=cpc&utm_subsource=Gemini-MG&utm_campaign=NLO-OvarianCancer-Native-OVTeeth-Open-US&utm_adgroup=ovarian+teeth&utm_term=Open_Mix_Open&utm_content=32198114854
A new test for ovarian cancer, from England.
ReplyDeleteWell, if this is for real it represents a huge step forward. A test, involving a single drop of blood and utilizing a gadget that can be operated by relatively unsophisticated staff, that can detect the presence of ovarian cancer UP TO FOUR YEARS EARLIER THAN EXISTING TECHNOLOGY (!)? My pessimistic soul says, “what’s the catch”? Lord, Lord, let it be true.
https://ovariancancernewstoday.com/2017/10/13/swansea-university-led-research-wins-prize-for-innovative-ovarian-cancer-diagnosis-test/
Here is another article on early detection of ovarian cancer. Glumly, I conclude that not much progress is being made.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.curetoday.com/articles/searching-for-better-detection-the-holy-grail-of-ovarian-cancer