The delivery of a Veridex Circulating Tumour Cell (CTC) Scanner
at the School of Clinical Sciences at Southmead Hospital is
providing an exciting opportunity for a team of Bristol scientists
and clinicians, to undertake potentially groundbreaking research
into what controls cancer tumour cells and causes them to spread
around the body.
Using a newly developed test called the CellSearchCTC test the
scanner has the potential to provide the means for more accurate
measurement of cancer progression so that appropriate treatments
are given.
There are only a handful of CTC scanners in the UK and this is
the first scanner to be housed in a research institute based in a
South West Hospital. The arrival of the scanner is exciting news
for Bristol as it will potentially benefit patients who are getting
cancer treatment at Southmead Hospital and the Bristol Haematology
and Oncology Centre.
Working in partnership with the two local NHS Trusts the
research by scientists and clinicians at the University of the West
of England, the University of Bristol, the Bristol Haematology and
Oncology Centre and the Bristol Urological Institute has the
potential to identify better targeted treatment options for
patients in Bristol with advanced cancer.
The scanner will be used to help the scientists and clinicians
investigate metastases of cancer cells in blood samples taken from
patients with prostate, breast and colon cancers. Better
insight into what causes cancer cells to metastasise (spread) will
help the partnership to design and test new improved drugs for
targeting and destroying these tumour cells that threaten the lives
of many cancer patients.
Speaking on behalf of the research team; which includes
Professor Jeff Holly (School of Clinical Sciences, University of
Bristol), Professor David Gillatt (Director of the Bristol
Urological Institute, Southmead Hospital), Mr Raj Persad
(Consultant Surgeon) and Dr Amit Bahl (Bristol Haematology and
Oncology Centre); Professor Anthony Rhodes from UWE explains,
Currently tumour detection and monitoring is determined using
imaging, bone scans and serum tumour markers like the PSA test for
prostate cancer. These tests do not tell us at an early stage if
the cells have started to break away from the original tumour or
the extent of the spread of the cancer.
The CTC scanner will allow us to measure very low cancer cell
counts in blood samples. The machine detects levels as low as 1 to
4 circulating tumour cells in a single blood sample; this is
significantly lower than the measurements achieved using other
technologies available to us in Bristol up until now.
Whilst the equipment will only initially be used for research,
this ability to measure low CTC levels means we can more accurately
predict progression of the disease. If there are fewer cells than a
certain threshold then patient prognosis is good, a higher count
than the threshold means less favourable prognosis and treatments
can be tailored accordingly.
Currently men have their prostate tumours removed at Southmead
Hospital by a team of surgeons led by Professor David Gillatt.
These men are then regularly monitored for recurrence using a PSA
test. If a recurrence is indicated men are treated with
radiotherapy at the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre under
the care of Dr Amit Bahl. The PSA test however cannot accurately
predict the location of the tumour or if cells have moved to a
secondary site in the body. Accurate information of CTC levels may
help Dr Bahl to identify the men who have tumours that have spread.
In these cases radiotherapy may be inappropriate and Dr Bahl will
be able to reduce the number of men who undergo this treatment
unnecessarily, and thus avoid the potential adverse side effects,
and he will be able to more rapidly initiate more appropriate
therapy for these men.
The CTC scanner provides the potential to discover more about
the characteristics of tumour cells. Currently several groups in
Bristol are investigating the behaviour of cancer cells using human
cell lines in the laboratory but cells grown in a lab do not behave
in the same way as cells that develop in living patients. The
ability to acquire living cancer cells from patients blood samples
will provide more relevant cells for lab experiments that will help
Professor Hollys and Professor Rhodess team of scientists to
discover what causes cells to metastasise. This could lead to the
development of improved new drugs that effectively target and
destroy the circulating tumour cells that threaten peoples
lives.
The scanner was funded by the Friends of Bristol Haematology and
Oncology Centre who provided 50% of the cost of the purchase of the
machine and the costs of running for a period of time, the John
James Bristol Foundation and matched funding from the Higher
Education Funding Council for England.
Ends
Editors notes
The Research team is led by Professor David Gillatt at the Bristol
Urological Institute, Professor Jeff Holly from the University of
Bristol, Professor Anthony Rhodes from the University of the West
of England, Mr Raj Persad, Bristol Urological Institute and Dr Amit
Bahl from the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre.
John Miles, MBE, Chairman of the Friends of the Bristol Oncology
Centre can be contacted on 01275 856770
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