A simple blood test developed by researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research, London (ICR) has the potential to transform the way breast cancer patients receive treatment. The test, which analyzes circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the blood, can accurately predict how well a patient will respond to specific treatments, even before the treatment begins.
More than 2 million people globally are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, making it the world’s most prevalent cancer. While treatments have improved in recent decades, it is not always easy to determine which treatments will work best for individual patients. This new liquid biopsy test aims to change that.
The study, funded by Breast Cancer Now, Cancer Research UK, the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and the ICR, analyzed blood samples from 167 patients with advanced breast cancer. The researchers found a strong correlation between low levels of ctDNA at the start of treatment and positive treatment response. A similar association was seen with the results taken after just four weeks of treatment.
“Our study shows that a simple blood test measuring circulating tumour DNA can provide an early prediction of whether a patient’s breast cancer will respond to treatment,” said Dr. Iseult Browne, a clinical research fellow at the ICR and the first author of the study. “Knowing this at the earliest stage – in this case, at the start of treatment, or after just four weeks – means that we can avoid giving patients drugs that won’t work and provide them with alternatives before their cancer has a chance to grow.”
For example, patients with low ctDNA levels could be given targeted therapies, combination treatments, or enrolled in clinical trials to test novel drugs. Trials are now underway to see if adapting a patient’s treatment based on these early blood tests can indeed improve their outcomes and give them more time living well with their cancer kept at bay.
“This research looked at advanced breast cancer, but these tests could also work for early-stage breast cancer,” said Professor Nicholas Turner, a professor of molecular oncology at the ICR and a consultant medical oncologist at the Royal Marsden. “The liquid biopsy has the potential to make treatment decisions faster, more personalized and ultimately more effective.”
This groundbreaking development in breast cancer research has the potential to revolutionize the way the disease is treated, offering patients a better chance of beating the disease and living well with their cancer.
