New 'Liquid Biopsy' Blood Test Improves Breast Cancer Diagnostics

Posted by Cancer Center at Wise Regional on September 29th, 2019

A new breast cancer test could make surgery unnecessary and accurately monitor the progression of the disease. The findings are from a study led by Mayo Clinic and Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

Published in Science Translational Medicine journal, the research suggests that the test known as TARDIS is about one hundred times more sensitive compared to other blood-based tests for monitoring cancer.

TARDIS refers to a “liquid biopsy” which detects and quantifies tiny elements of cancer DNA in a patient’s blood, referred to as ctDNA (circulating tumor DNA). According to the study, TARDIS identified ctDNA in as little as two parts per 100,000 in a patient’s blood.

How TARDIS Can Improve the Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

• By measuring ctDNA, the test can help identify residual cancer’s presence, thus letting physicians know whether the treatment has successfully eradicated the cancer.

• TARDIS can tell if patients at an early stage of breast cancer have had a good response to pre-operative drug therapy.

• The method is more sensitive than using imaging to determine response to drug therapy.

• As opposed to conventional biopsies that usually produce results from a single place at a time, a liquid biopsy uses a blood draw, making it possible to carry it out repeatedly to establish the disease status of a patient.

• After more clinical tests and trials, the biopsy could be used to monitor patients as they undergo cancer treatment.

• TARDIS could help doctors tell when patients are cured and free from cancer.

• The results from the study show that using TARDIS to carry out personalized ctDNA analysis is a reliable approach to help identify patients’ response to cure after pre-surgical drug therapy.

Along with tissue-bade biomarkers and imaging, ctDNA is fast becoming an essential diagnostic test to determine whether individual patients need additional treatment.

The samples used in this study were collected at Addenbrookes Hospital, City of Hope, and Mayo Clinic. 

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North Texas Cancer Center at Wise, a division of Choice Cancer Care, is now operating as the Cancer Center at Wise Regional and is one of the most renowned cancer treatment centers in Texas.