Early cancer detection gives patients the best odds of successful treatment. Typically, cancers diagnosed at an early stage have notably better therapeutic options. As cancer progresses, it often becomes more complex and, thus, much more challenging to treat. Therefore, an essential arm of cancer research focuses on improving screening and detection approaches to ensure doctors catch more cases early in their growth where treatment-susceptibility odds remain high.
While early cancer detection depends partly on scientific and technological advances, other important factors play a role in successful cancer screening programs. Compliance is a crucial consideration; the most accurate detection strategy available might remain underused if it isn’t feasible for people to use. For example, factors like the time needed for a screening procedure, the associated costs, and comfort during the procedure can all impact how readily doctors can implement a strategy into mainstream practice. Thus, the more accessible cancer detection procedures become, the better the chances of compliance and, ultimately, the highest success rates.
A new article published in the Journal Small highlights exciting possibilities for cancer detection. The novel strategy focuses on extracellular vesicles (EVs), nano-sized particles released from cells into the extracellular space. EVs differ in size and structure, but their contents, including protein, DNA, and lipids, can give important information about what is happening in the body. While we can find EVs in serum, the liquid component of blood, researchers have faced challenges with developing assays to accurately and reliably detect diagnostically relevant EVs.
To address the complications associated with EV diagnostics, the study’s authors propose a novel technique to characterize EVs, which they call “catch and display for liquid biopsy” (CAD-LB). This method utilizes fluorescent labeling to allow doctors to detect patterns of markers in EVs with microscopy. The study demonstrated that this method could identify specific proteins in EVs and determine their concentrations. In addition, the researchers showed that they could identify markers associated with therapeutic responses using the CAB-LB method. This finding proves an additional utility of the approach, which could prove helpful in developing personalized medicine regimens for cancer patients.
James McGrath, the study's senior author, explained that “the idea has been around for a while, but previously it required many purification steps to isolate the EVs away from other components of the biofluid. CAD-LB is much simpler and faster, which gives it the potential for clinical use that more complex methods lack.” Upon further validation, CAD-LB could significantly enhance our ability to offer fast, reliable, and inexpensive methods for early cancer detection, prompting significant advances in early cancer detection.
Sources: Small, Signal Transd Target Ther, University of Rochester