Alliance to Develop Cancer Tests for Use in Surgery

A three-year collaboration to develop highly sensitive genetic tests for use during surgery to rapidly determine whether cancer has spread has been announced by the University of Pittsburgh (UPMC, USA) and Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA).

The companies say that rare tumor cells in lymph node biopsies often missed by conventional intraoperative evaluation would be detected in less than 30 minutes by using the new tests, giving surgeons critical information on which to base treatment. The tests could help many cancer patients avoid second surgeries and receive more appropriate treatment. Under the agreement, UPMC researchers will identify and evaluate new genetic markers for lung, breast, esophagus, oral, head and neck cancer, and melanoma. Cepheid's Smart Cycler, an instrument for rapid gene amplification and detection, will be used to validate these markers. Cepheid retains first rights to license and commercialize resulting diagnostic tests for its proprietary systems, including GeneXpert, a cartridge- based system that integrates and automates all the steps required to detect DNA in complex biologic samples.

The new molecular tests will use a variation of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method of gene amplification to rapidly detect trace levels of cancer-related genes. Using this method, Dr. Tony Godfrey, UPMC assistant professor of surgery, has already demonstrated rapid detection of the cancer-related gene CEA in lymph node biopsies from esophageal cancer patients. Preliminary results suggest the new test is more sensitive, accurate, and timely than conventional methods used during surgery.

"Treatment decisions in oncology are strongly influenced by the extent of disease spread,” said Tony Godfrey. "Molecular detection methods, while highly sensitive, have been too technically demanding to produce timely, consistent results.”




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Univ. of Pittsburgh
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