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Re: Ctc?
The number of cells discovered in the CTC technique has turned out to be a good prognosticator of how well empiric treatments are working, and is proving to be highly complementary to the parellel breakthrough efforts in targeted therapy through cell function analysis. The blood test could obiate the need for repeatedly doing CT scans and biopsies to measure disease, the extent of disease and new mutations in people undergoing cancer treatment.
The June issue of Oncology News International (June 2010, V 19, No 6) quotes a Duke University study of the use of high-tech cancer imaging, with one representative finding being that the average Medicare lung cancer patient receives 11 radiographs, 6 CT scans, a PET scan, and MRI, two echocardiograms, and an ultrasound, all within two years of diagnosis. A study co-author (Dr. Kevan Schulman) asks: "Are all these imaging studies essential? Are they all of value? Is the information really meaningful? What is changing as a result of all this imaging?"
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