In a bold stride for cancer diagnostics, MIT and the Broad Institute team have augmented the capabilities of blood tests used to detect and monitor the vicious disease, as per a report from MIT News. Caught in the act of shedding DNA, tumors leave a transient trail in the bloodstream – but the fragments are so minute, they're tough to catch. The newly developed method could pave the road to catching cancer sooner, and monitoring it with a precision previously unattainable.
As tumors toss out DNA from dying cells, traditional blood tests grapple with snagging these elusive strands. The MIT-led team, however, concocted "priming agents" that throw a wrench into the body's cleanup process, slowing down the removal of that vital tumor DNA evidence. An impressive feat indeed, but their study, conducted in mice, rocketed the detectable rates of early-stage lung metastases from a dismal less than 10 percent to an astounding over 75 percent – according to Sangeeta Bhatia of MIT and a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science.
Bhatia, alongside colleagues J. Christopher Love and Viktor Adalsteinsson, have given a new edge to liquid biopsies. Usually, doctors rely on these tests to spot mutations after the blood has been drawn. But these MIT brainiacs opted to flip the script: increasing the DNA levels before the needle even breaks the skin. By elevating the amount of tumor DNA in circulation, the enhanced samples can then undergo the same sequencing rigmarole as traditional liquid biopsies, said Love, a professor at MIT and fellow bigwig at the Koch Institute and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard.
With a one-two punch, the researchers took aim at two primary DNA disposal methods in the body. One priming agent – monoclonal antibody – plays the defender, shielding the DNA from blood-roaming enzymes. Another – a crafty nanoparticle – works as a decoy, keeping immune cells too busy to bother the real DNA. Carmen Martin-Alonso and Shervin Tabrizi of MIT and Broad Institute and Kan Xiong of Broad Institute, took point as lead authors in this ground-breaking study. Result is a surge in DNA concentration by up to 60-fold in blood samples.
Prepped and tested in mice with a high propensity for lung tumors, this novel approach not only assists in the early detection of cancer but shines a light on potential treatment paths. The rapid action and quick fade of these agents mean it's possible to visit a doctor, get the agent, and donate blood for the test, all within the same day, explained Love. With this tech in the pipeline, cancer screening could become less of an ordeal, more patients could be pulled into the fold for earlier interception and improved therapy.
The potential of this technology hasn't gone unnoticed; the creators have founded Amplifyer Bio to usher the tech from labs to clinics. Their work showcases a powerful shift in the cancer detection paradigm – one that could translate to saving lives by spotting the disease when it's most vulnerable, as articulated by the MIT team.
