Testing tumors for treatment in lab

[Steph N]

Jeff wrote:
"not knowing which treatment is right for which person. That's why I really hope that the technology for testing different treatments on tumors in the lab is accepted more widely soon..."

Hi -
this statement peaked my curiosity. I had vaguely hard of such work a while back, and wonder if you can point us to more info on this possiblity. You are talking about the actual tumor from the live patient and not some mouse implant, right?
Where is this done now, or is it still all experimental?
This could be an amazing way of helping patients if such a technique was ever approved.
Thanks for keeping things interesting here!

[jeff]

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelate....html

Hi (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/eva.html

Hi) Steph (and all),

This link above will bring you to a very skeptical piece about a lab in Cali that does such chemosensitivity tests. The guy Nagourney who is mentioned seems to be the lead here, so I'll check and see if I can find anything else on him...

Best to all,
Jeff

[jeff]

http://www.breastcancer.org/cell_search_mets.html

And here's a synopsis on cell search, which is a blood test, not a tumor test...

Jeff

[susie]

Everyone and everything is suspect on quackwatch. Watch out. Dr. Nagourney is an oncologist, researcher out of Long Beach Memorial Hos. He has a lab where they do assays or studies of tumors, and recommend a chemotherapy regimin that the tumor is sensitive to. Why use taxanes, for instance, if you are resistant to them?

[Lyn]

Hi there I have always wondered why they can't test the biopsy with the chemo drugs before we are given them in the same manner they know what antibiotics to give certain infections from a blood test, it is always what is so simple that is not seen and we have to find out first hand if it will work. I had a blood test done years ago and it was determined that I had a connective tissue disorder, all the drugs they gave me prior did nothing for my swollen painful leg and continual flu symptoms, but the blood test told the doc to put me on sulphursalazine at the pain stopped just about straight away now that I had so much at the time it makes me throw up if I have sulphur any more so I just take the occasional bruphen, but it is amazing how sulphur is so effective as a drug.

Love & Big Hugs Lyn