In January 2023 we haven’t just ushered in a new year, but also a new age of cancer diagnostics for brain tumour patients. Or at least that’s the hope…
Over the years, developing a reliable ‘liquid biopsy’ has been fraught with challenges, setbacks and many false dawns. We now enter a new era, with the world’s first non-invasive liquid biopsy platform to be granted special designation to be used in glial tumours. The story has now been covered extensively by science focused media outlets, but one question remains. Is the hype truly justified?
In the next series of articles, I will delve deeper into the science behind the new tool and how the technology has been refined to produce the results we see today.
So how did we get here?
The story broke a couple of weeks ago, when Dr Vineet Datta, CEO of Data Cancer Genetics, stated that his team have developed a highly sensitive, reliable liquid biopsy that had overcome the shortfalls of previous efforts. These claims have now been officially validated following the release of new data from a cohort of patients. A prospective, blinded study by a research team at Imperial College London, confirmed that the liquid biopsy was able to detect malignant brain tumours with a very high degree of accuracy.
Following such impressive results, the USFDA was able to grant Breakthrough Device Designation for Datar Cancer Genetics’ Cancer Detection liquid biopsy solution, '“TriNetraTM-Glio”. The product would primarily be used to help diagnose brain tumours where a conventional biopsy is not possible.
Kevin O’Neill, head of neurosurgery at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, has heralded the discovery as a seminal moment. In response to a press release on the development, Mr O’Neill remarked:
This is an amazing breakthrough which I have had the honour of being involved with and now importantly has FDA approval.
This will be a major advance for brain tumour patients as a truly diagnostic liquid biopsy which reliably detects tumour cells rather than just molecular indicators of the disease, all from a simple blood test.
It has massive potential to improve and augment the speed and accuracy of diagnosis and treatment. It could also transform how we might determine each patient’s tailored treatment options and monitor their response to such treatments very sensitively.
I have arranged to catch up with Dr Datta to discuss details about what this development means to patients and when we can expect to see more widespread use of the technology. I look forward to releasing details of these conversations soon. I feel this Substack platform is unique, because although you can easily find this story in the mainstream press, details about how theory is put into practice is lacking. The patient perspective is too often lost in these conversations, with the obvious questions being - When can we expect to have access to this test and what are the eligibility criteria? Can we use the test for monitoring and determining risk for screening purposes?
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