New method for early detection of relapse in the blood cancer disease myelodysplastic syndrome

Researchers on the Division of Drugs, Huddinge (MedH), Magnus Tobiasson and Eva Hellström-Lindberg have, along with the Nordic MDS group, developed a technique that makes it potential to detect early relapse of the blood most cancers myelodysplastic syndrome after stem cell transplantation. The tactic makes it potential to provoke early therapy and, thus, hopefully, forestall relapse. The research has been published within the Journal of Scientific Oncology.

“We used a method known as digital droplet PCR to trace the mutations discovered within the sick cells, and we confirmed that this technique can detect residual cells early earlier than the affected person will get a full medical relapse,” says Magnus Tobiasson, affiliate professor on the Division of Drugs, Huddinge at Karolinska Institutet.

“Relapse after a stem cell transplantation is frequent for sufferers with myelodysplastic syndromeand the prognosis after a relapse is poor. We now have now developed a technique to detect remaining sick cells, which makes it potential to offer early therapy and hopefully forestall relapse. “

“We included 266 sufferers from transplant hospitals in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. We collected bone marrow and blood recurrently from these sufferers and carried out our PCR analyses. Information from the research present that we have been in a position to detect residual sick cells on common 71 days earlier than the affected person relapsed.”

“We now have now began the subsequent research the place this technique of detecting remaining sick cells is used to information therapy after transplantation. The treating doctor will get outcomes on whether or not there are remaining sick cells and may adapt the therapy accordingly,” Tobiasson concludes.