Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research have developed a test that they claim accurately spots the most aggressive tumours before they spread
A new test for breast cancer can accurately spot the most aggressive tumours before they spread.
Scientists have created a technique that identifies which cancers are most likely to grow aggressively, enabling them to take action to stop the spread.
According to initial trials of the test, developed by the Institute of Cancer Research in London, doctors were able to spot women at the highest risk of dying from their disease.
The test could now be used to tailor treatment for women at the highest risk.
Scientists modified methods initially developed by wildlife experts to identify ecological diversity in the natural world.
They adapted the ecologists’ computer algorithm to use it on tumour samples.
Tumours with a greater diversity of types of cell tend to be the most aggressive, and most likely to eventually become fatal.
The cancer team found that they could use the naturalists’ approach to give each tumour a ‘diversity score’ – which they showed was an accurate predictor of how dangerous it would become.
In a trial of 1,000 women, they found that those whose tumours had the highest diversity score were three times more likely to die within three five than those with the lowest score.
According to results published in the journal PLOS Medicine, at-risk women had just a 16 per cent of surviving five years, compared to 50 per cent for those with the most stable tumours.
Most forms of cancer become far more dangerous once the disease spreads through the body, creating secondary tumours.
Primary breast cancer, for example, is relatively easy to treat at an early stage because it can be simply removed with surgery and treated with chemotherapy.
But once the breast cancer has spread – usually to the bones, liver or lungs – it is much more likely to be fatal.
The scientists hope that they will be able to use the new system, called the Ecosystem Diversity Index, to change the way they treat women with the most aggressive cancers.
This could involve simple surgery, or might utilise emerging treatments which can isolate certain strains of cancer and stop them spreading.
Study leader Dr Yinyin Yuan of the Institute of Cancer Research said: ‘Our findings show that mathematical models of ecological diversity can spot more aggressive cancers.
‘By analysing images of the environment around a tumour based on Darwinian natural selection principles, we can predict survival in some breast cancer types even more effectively than many of the measures used now in the clinic.
According to initial trials of the test, doctors were able to spot women at the highest risk of dying from their disease, pictured under the microscope. The test could now be used to tailor treatment for women at the highest risk, experts said
‘In the future, we hope that by combining cell diversity scores with other factors that influence cancer survival, such as genetics and tumour size, we will be able to tell apart patients with more or less aggressive disease so we can identify those who might need different types of treatment.’
Professor Paul Workman, chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research added: ‘This ingenious study has combined techniques developed in ecology and cell biology with computer vision technology to develop a totally new predictive test which could ultimately be used for patients in the clinic.
‘By better understanding these ecosystems, we aim to create new ways to diagnose, monitor and treat cancer.’
Katie Goates of the Breast Cancer Now charity, said: ‘This is a completely new approach, building on ecological principles to analyse the types of cell in a breast tumour as if they were species of animals in a given area.
‘This study confirms previous findings that the different types of non-cancer cells within a tumour can influence and – more importantly – tell doctors how a tumour is going to progress.
‘By using a method usually seen in ecology, the study is a real reminder of the need to be open to innovative ideas from anywhere in science in order to make progress on breast cancer.
‘We look forward to further work using this unique approach that will help us better understand the environment of cells that exists in and around tumours; ultimately, this could help us predict patient outcomes and plan treatment responses more effectively.’
Written by Ben Spencer Medical Correspondent for Daily Mail, February 16, 2016.
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