A Ray of Hope for Cancer Patients: High-Accuracy New Blood Test to Detect Cancer Cells
Fighting cancer is a long battle. From the discovery and diagnosis of the tumour to surgery, to the lengthy treatment that follows – the journey is draining enough as it is. For patients with resistance to certain drugs, the ordeal is made even more taxing by the necessary search for alternative treatment methods, as well as further tests and surgeries. A ground-breaking new blood test, however, could offer new ways to help these cancer patients. A biomedical research team at Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences has developed a new technology that could detect cancer cells in the circulation system, through a blood test using just 4ml of the patient’s blood. The “cell manipulation and test platform based on microfluidic chip” technology identifies tumour cells circulating in the blood, which means that patients can expect an accurate cancer diagnosis without biopsy surgery. The research team behind this technology is led by Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, Acting Dean of the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences and Yeung Kin Man Chair Professor at Biomedical Sciences at CityU. Key members of the team include Dr Henry Zou Heng, Dr Edwin Yu Waikin and Dr Xu Tao, all Senior Research Associates in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at CityU. “Although existing blood tests can identify cancer markers, we had a loftier goal – to be able to confirm the existence of cancer cells directly through bloodwork. It was a very difficult process. Our breakthrough was developing not only the world’s fastest, but a highly accurate detection of circulating
賽馬會動物醫學及生命科學院 I 2020 春季
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