Breakthrough in Breast Cancer Treatment: Researchers Develop "Labyrinth in a Chip" to Test Cancer Cells

Strategic Insights -

Researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Kansas have developed a revolutionary method to collect and test cancer cells in patients' blood, which could help doctors choose the right breast cancer treatment. This innovative approach aims to identify biomarkers that distinguish patients who would benefit from aggressive interventions from those who may require only surgery or could safely forgo treatment.

Key Takeaways:

  • The "labyrinth in a chip" method, developed by Sunitha Nagrath and Max Wicha, can collect cancer cells from patients' blood, allowing doctors to test and identify biomarkers associated with disease progression, chemotherapy resistance, and platelet binding.
  • The study, published in Science Advances, suggests that around 10% to 53% of untreated ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) cases can become invasive, highlighting the need for accurate biomarkers to predict the risk of cancer progression.
  • The researchers collected cancer cells from the blood of 34 patients with ductal carcinoma in situ at the University of Kansas Medical Center and determined what genes were turned on in individual cancer cells.
  • The study found that Black patients tend to have more cancer cells in their blood and more immune suppression, aligning with higher breast cancer mortality rates in this population.
  • The researchers plan to gather data on which cell types and biomarkers can metastasize to secondary sites and track disease progression in mice and human patients.

Statistics:

  • 2.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.
  • Around a quarter of breast cancer patients are diagnosed at an early stage (ductal carcinoma in situ) with a good prognosis.
  • 10% to 53% of untreated DCIS cases can become invasive.
  • 10% of cancer reoccurs within 10 years for cases treated with surgery alone.
  • 6 Black patients who participated in the study had more cancer cells in their blood and more immune suppression than white patients.

Sources:

  • University of Michigan Press Release, October 29 (no year specified)
  • Science Advances article: Nagrath, S., et al. "Biodegradable Micromechanical Labyrinth for Liquids (BML) for isolation and analysis of rare cancer cells from patient blood." Science Advances, 2017.
  • University of Michigan's Department of Chemical Engineering press release, 2017