Researchers may have uncovered a novel strategy to detect cancer cells with a liquid biopsy that’s designed to be simpler, faster, and more informational than current methods, according to a recent study published by Walker et al in the nanoscience publication Small.
Study Methods and Results
In the recent study, the researchers developed a novel tool that collects extracellular vesicles. Selecting and analyzing extracellular vesicles may provide valuable information about diseases in the body.
Despite excitement and long-standing potential in this field, researchers have faced challenges centered around the most effective way to analyze the bioactive cargo in extracellular vesicles and develop an accurate biopsy tool. The researchers described current methods as costly, complex, and too limited, because they may not allow physicians to analyze multiple biomarkers simultaneously.
The researchers detailed that the novel imaging-based tool takes a digital approach and has proven to be more sensitive in early studies—capable of sorting hundreds of thousands of extracellular vesicles; detecting cancer at earlier, more curable stages; and unpacking the function of extracellular vesicles.
The researchers plan to implement the novel tool in clinical research to guide the results of treatment-based clinical trials.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit onlinelibrary.wiley.com.
