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British researchers at the London-based Institute for Cancer Research (ICR) have developed a blood test that predicts the response of a bad cancer patient to a new drug at the start of treatment.
The test identified genetic changes in the cancer, suggesting that the patient was less likely to respond to treatment and that his disease could return quickly.
Although targeted drugs help many patients with advanced bad cancer, some women stop responding at the early stages of treatment because their cancer is evolving and becoming resistant to drugs.
The new test is expected to detect approximately 50% of patients with the most common form of bad cancer with the highest risk of early relapse and requiring additional treatment to cope with cancer resistance.
In addition, the test could identify patients who will benefit from the treatment.
To study the effect of genetic modifications on a woman's tumor, the ICR team examined fragments of cancer DNA that entered the bloodstream.
Blood samples were collected from 310 bad cancer patients with an estrogen receptor participating in a clinical trial evaluating palbociclib and fulvestrant for advanced bad cancer.
The results revealed that 131 women had one or more of the three circulating changes in tumor DNA, which indicated the risk of early relapse.
The researchers found that women whose circulating tumor DNA was altered by the p53 cancer gene had recurred after an average of 3.7 months, compared with 12.7 months in women without change in the p53 gene.
In addition, it was found that a higher number of copies of the FGFR1 gene and an increase in the level of tumor DNA in the blood reduced the mean time to cancer recurrence.
"Our study revealed that a new genetic test could detect early in treatment women whose cancer was most likely to quickly develop resistance to palbociclib."
Patients with these changes in circulating tumor DNA returned after an average of 3.9 months compared to 12 months in women without these changes.
Nicholas Turner, Professor of Molecular Oncology ICR, said: "Our study found that a new genetic test could detect early in treatment women whose cancer was most likely to quickly develop resistance to palbociclib.
"We could then adjust their treatment plan accordingly, by testing other treatments from the start to try to prevent resistance or by switching to another treatment as soon as resistance develops."
The blood test will be evaluated in several clinical trials before it can be used at the clinic.
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