OncoLog, Volume 56, Number 3, March 2011 Page: 6
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MD Anderson One of Four Centers
to Test Cancer Cell Detection ChipA new test that could monitor the
effectiveness of cancer treatment
by capturing circulating tumor cells
from patients' blood samples, allowing
the cells to be quantified and analyzed,
is scheduled to begin clinical testing at
MD Anderson and other institutions
this year.
The test, which can detect 1 cancer
cell among 1 billion healthy cells, is
being developed at Massachusetts
General Hospital in Boston.
An early version of the test used a
microchip, called a CTC-Chip, which
resembled a glass microscope slide with
tiny posts that captured circulating
tumor cells as blood was forced through
the chip. The posts were coated with
antibodies that would bind to tumor
cells but not to normal blood cells.
Stains then allowed researchers to count
and capture the cells for analysis. The
second-generation chip, called the HB-
Chip, uses a herringbone design instead
of posts to capture tumor cells and will
be tested in clinical studies at MD An-
derson and three other centers this year.
At MD Anderson, the HB-Chip will
be used to capture circulating tumor
cells in blood from patients in a num-
ber of settings, including the Biomark-
er-integrated Approaches to Targeted
Therapy for Lung Cancer Elimination
(BATTLE) II trial. Like the first BAT-
TLE trial, whose results were reported
in the June 2010 issue of OncoLog,
BATTLE II will study four different
chemotherapy regimens in patients
with advanced, treatment-refractory
lung cancer. Patient enrollment for
BATTLE II is expected to begin soon.
"The number of circulating tumor
cells could be a measure of the effec-
tiveness of therapy," said Roy S. Herbst,
M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Section of
Thoracic Medical Oncology and a pro-
fessor in the Department of Thoracic/
Head and Neck Medical Oncology at
MD Anderson. "In addition to quanti-
fying the circulating tumor cells, our
team wants to analyze these cells forgenetic mutations,
gene amplification,
and expression of pro-
teins-what many
would call a liquid
biopsy."
For patients in the
BATTLE II trial, blood
samples will be drawn
on the same day tumor
specimens are obtained
by core needle biopsy,
before the patients
begin treatment. The
characteristics of the
circulating tumor cells
captured with the HB-
Chip from the bloodCa
Dr. Mehmet Toner of Massachusetts General Hospital holds
an HB-Chip, which captures circulating tumor cells from pa-
tients' blood samples. The chip is being tested in collaboration
with MD Anderson and two other cancer centers.samples will be com-
pared to those of the
biopsy specimens; as part of the trial
protocol, researchers will check both
groups of tumor cells for biomarkers
associated with effectiveness of therapy.
The principal investigator of this trial is
Vali Papadimitrakopoulou, M.D., a pro-
fessor in the Department of Thoracic/
Head and Neck Medical Oncology.
Researchers will also look at phar-
macodynamic markers in circulating
tumor cells obtained during and after
treatment. Dr. Herbst said these analy-
ses may help researchers better under-
stand how cells respond to treatment
and why some cells are resistant to
therapy.
"The beauty of doing these tests
at MD Anderson is that the large popu-
lation of patients participating in clini-
cal studies allows us to incorporate the
blood tests into other clinical trial pro-
tocols," Dr. Herbst said. He added that
it might be possible to test the HB-
Chip in conjunction with upcoming
clinical trials for the treatment of
prostate, gastrointestinal, and breast
cancers at MD Anderson.
The only blood test for circulating
tumor cells currently on the market is
CellSearch, made by Veridex, a John-
son & Johnson subsidiary. CellSearchdetects circulating tumor cells but does
not capture them intact. Because cap-
turing the cells whole allows them to
be analyzed like biopsy specimens, there
is hope that the HB-Chip or one of its
successors might also have predictive
value or even eliminate the need for a
needle biopsy in some patients in whom
metastatic cancer is suspected. Howev-
er, Dr. Herbst said he expects the main
clinical use of the HB-Chip initially
will be measuring a patient's response
to therapy.
Several studies have found that
circulating tumor cells are associated
with poor prognosis in patients with
various cancers, and it is believed that
circulating tumor cells are an indicator
of metastatic disease. However, the
exact nature of the relationship be-
tween circulating cells and metastatic
disease is not known. "Not all circulat-
ing tumor cells may have the ability to
invade," Dr. Herbst said. "This is one
of the things we hope to learn."FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact the Office of Physician
Relations at 800-252-0502 or
physicianrelations@mdanderson.org.6 OncoLog U March 2011
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University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. OncoLog, Volume 56, Number 3, March 2011, periodical, March 2011; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth639235/m1/6/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.