A system fattens tumor cells to diagnose cancer early.

A scientific breakthrough carried out by researchers at MIT and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (USA) could transform the way we diagnose and treat cancer. The team has devised an innovative system to improve the ability of blood tests to detect circulating tumor DNA, thereby facilitating early diagnosis of cancer and providing crucial guidelines for treatment. Tumors constantly release DNA particles from dying cells into the bloodstream, but the amount of this DNA is minimal, something that has made it difficult to create tests sensitive enough to detect this signal. What this team has now done, whose study is published in ‘Science’, is to design injectable molecules called “priming agents”, designed to make DNA remain visible for longer in the blood. In mouse trials, these agents significantly increase DNA levels, allowing early detection of lung metastasis in more than 75% of cases. Related News ABC AWARDS HEALTH standard No How to hunt cancer before it gives symptoms Javier Palomo The oncological hyper-early diagnosis and prevention unit of HM CIOCC is the first of its kind in Europe. It uses traditional screening tests and the most modern molecular diagnostic tests. This advance not only enables earlier diagnosis of cancer, but also offers more sensitive detection of tumor mutations to guide treatment and improve the identification of cancer recurrence. According to Sangeeta Bhatia, one of the lead authors of the study, “you can give one of these agents an hour before the blood draw and it makes things visible that would not have been visible before.” This approach could significantly improve liquid biopsies, used to detect mutations in cancer patients, by increasing the amount of signal available in blood samples.