SINGAPORE: For the first time in medical history, a blood test has been developed to tell doctors how effective the ongoing treatment against cancer is and what modifications are needed.
For a long time, there was a need for a test to tell if the cancer treatment was working. Fortunately, this new test results in 24 hours, developed by Shao Huelin, a biophysicist at the National University of Singapore, and his colleagues.
This test specifically examines the spaces or intervals between blood cells. For this reason, the test has been named Extracellular Vehicle Monitoring of Small Molecular Occupancy and Protein Expression ExoSCOPE. The small cavity or space outside the cell is called the extravascular or EV. In fact, they are fine particles that come out of the cells. If a drug has reached the cancerous abscess, it will leak out of the cancer cells a little and reach the EV. This lets the experts know that the medicine is reaching its right place.
Earlier, experts used imaging and other methods to determine the effectiveness of the drug, but the results came weeks later. In contrast, the Exoscope blood test provides results in just 24 hours. This can help reduce the cost and duration of cancer treatment.
It should be noted that EVs found in human blood cells are hundreds of times thinner than human hair. That is why special sensors have been made to detect it. This sensor has millions of nano-rings that magnify the amount of medicine in the blood like a convex lens.
Thus, this blood test is being called revolutionary because it shows the immediate effect of cancer therapy.