Manchester: Colorectal, or bowel, cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in
Europe. It is most commonly treated with a combination of chemotherapy
agents, and outcome can be improved by using additional drugs. However,
this multi-drug approach can increase side-effects such as hair loss,
low white blood cell count, diarrhoea and damage to the peripheral
nervous system. The team from Manchester counted tumour cells in a patient’s blood sample as a way of predicting who might benefit most.
Professor Caroline Dive, from the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute at The University of Manchester – part of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre
- who jointly led the study, said: “Here in Manchester we are
interested in detecting cancer cells that have been shed from a
patient’s tumour and are circulating in their blood. In this study we
wanted to see if the number of tumour cells in a blood sample could be
linked to how well patients respond to intensive chemotherapy.”
The
group looked at patients with advanced colorectal cancer who received a
four-drug combination treatment. They confirmed that those patients
with three or more circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in their blood sample
had a lower overall survival, compared with those patients who had
fewer than three CTCs. The team also presented data that suggested that
patients with a higher CTC count before treatment could benefit more
from this more intensive treatment regimen.
Dr Mark Saunders, a Consultant Oncologist from The Christie NHS Foundation Trust,
who also led the study, said: “Our initial results suggest that this
test could prove useful for patient selection and we should now validate
it in further larger trials of new treatments for bowel cancer.”
Dr Matt Krebs,
Clinical Senior Lecturer at The University of Manchester and part of
the study team, added: “These studies are important for the development
of a more personalised treatment approach for cancer patients where
patients receive the treatments most likely to benefit them.”
Cancer is one of The University of Manchester’s research beacons
- examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration
and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest
questions facing the planet.
Paper entitled “Circulating
tumour cell enumeration in a Phase II trial of a four-drug regimen in
advanced colorectal cancer” Krebs MG et al. (2015) Clinical Colorectal
Cancer. doi: 10.1016/j.clcc.2014.12.006