Researchers reveal imaging technology could help diagnose and treat bowel cancer
Researchers from the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Scotland Institute and the University of Glasgow have revealed that imaging technology could be used as a new approach for diagnosing and treating patients with bowel cancer.
Funded by CRUK, the study published in Clinical Cancer Research found that positron emission tomography (PET) imaging could allow tumours to be studied while inside the body, as opposed to being removed.
Currently the fourth most common cancer in the UK, affecting around 268,000 people, bowel cancer occurs when abnormal cells divide and grow in an uncontrolled way, affecting the large bowel.
Most often, biopsies are used to diagnose bowel cancer. However, this process requires an invasive procedure, which comes with risk factors including potential infection as well as the possibility of being unable to capture an entire picture of what is happening in a patient’s bowel.
Researchers used existing genetic data on bowel cancer to identify a variety of tumour characteristics using PET imaging.
Used to produce detailed three-dimensional images of the inside of the body using tracers, PET scan images clearly show the part of the body being investigated and can distinguish how well certain functions of the body are working. In mouse models, researchers found that multiple tracer PET scanning was able to determine between different forms of bowel cancer based on their genes.
As most bowel cancer patients have different mutations in their cancer and in genes including KRAS, APC and TGFB that have different image signatures, researchers believe that PET imaging could identify the type of bowel cancer that a patient has by matching image signatures with mutations. In addition, the technology could match patients to the best treatment for them, also known as precision medicine and could better monitor the progression of the cancer as well as treatment.
“Precision medicine has the potential to revolutionise cancer diagnosis and treatment,” said Dr David Lewis from CRUK Scotland Institute and the University of Glasgow. He continued: “PET imaging offers a promising alternative, with the ability to survey the entire cancer landscape, allowing us to examine tumours in more detail while they are still growing.”
March 22, 2024
