Prostate cancer predicted by counting tumor cells
15 years, 10 months ago
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Posted on Jul 06, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
Doctors can see how prostate cancer patients are responding to treatment by counting tumor cells in their bloodstream, according to reports.
Doctors can see how prostate cancer patients are responding to treatment by counting tumor cells in their bloodstream, according to reports.
Scientists from Britain found that by counting the changes in the number of tumor cells circulating in a prostate cancer patient's bloodstream they could predict the outcome after chemotherapy.
"The results add to a growing body of evidence showing that counting these cells is a valuable method for predicting survival and for monitoring treatment benefit in these patients", said Dr David Olmos.
Researchers found that of the 119 participating patients, those with the lowest number of tumor cells had on average a longer life expectancy.
"The technique we used in our study is classified as a cytometric approach. We use an antibody that is widely expressed by epithelial cancer cells, and then use a range of cell-staining techniques to ensure it is a cancer cell."
According to the Prostate Cancer Research Centre, the disease kills 10,000 men every year in the UK.
