A team of researchers has shown that by analyzing patients’ blood samples, they can detect cancer earlier in people with a hereditary condition with an almost 100% lifetime risk of developing cancer.
Researchers at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), the Institute of Cancer Research (OICR) and the University Health Network (UHN) in Ontario, Canada, have shown that by analyzing patient blood samples, they can detect cancer earlier in people with Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS), an inherited condition with a nearly 100% lifetime risk of developing cancer, writes 360medical.ro.
Li-Fraumeni syndrome is an inherited condition associated with a very high risk of developing cancer, often tumors affecting the breast, soft tissues, brain and other organs.
It is caused by changes in the TP53 gene, which codes for a protein that helps prevent tumors from forming and is commonly referred to as the “guardian of the genome”.
Cancer cells and healthy cells release fragments of DNA into the blood.
By analyzing these fragments of DNA, researchers can develop methods to detect whether a tumor has developed in the body.
Testing blood samples for signs of cancer – often called liquid biopsies – is an attractive screening approach compared to imaging methods, which require specialized equipment, and biopsies, which are more invasive.
The research team analyzed 170 blood samples from 82 people with Li-Fraumeni syndrome, collected over several years, as well as 30 blood samples from people without the condition, providing a framework that demonstrates the viability of this approach , which could support earlier detection of certain types of cancer in people with the condition.
The team will conduct a clinical trial to further test this approach and screen patients in the hope of identifying their cancer earlier.
Patients will also include those with various types of high-risk cancer predisposition syndromes, including Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Lynch syndrome, and hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.
The study was published in the journal Cancer Discovery.
2023-10-26 14:00:07
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