Increasingly common in the population, cancer is one of the most studied diseases in medicine. Over the years, science has realized that there is no standard treatment that solves all types of tumor: each patient responds differently to attempts to eliminate cancer cells. Therefore, the watchword for the future of treatment is personalization.
In the search for more and more accurate options, an exam called Onco-PDO is being launched in Brazil. In the laboratory, scientists use cells collected from the cancer biopsy or tumor resection surgery and grow 3D cells similar to those they found in the patient.
“It’s a type of model where the cells are not adhered to the plate and preserve the architecture that is observed in human tissue. The technique allows us to have, in the laboratory, the model that is most similar to what is observed in the patient”, explains the biomedical Danielle Ferreira, responsible for the Invitrocue laboratory, which makes the test available in partnership with the Oncoclínicas group.
treatment options
Once the model is created, the team is able to test various types of treatment to see exactly what works once morest the specific cancer of the patient who underwent the examination. The treating physician is given 60 choices of targeted therapy and chemotherapy drugs and can choose eight types to test on the sample.
The test costs BRL 35,000 and, for now, is available in Brazil only privately, that is, it is not covered by health plans and is not even in the Unified Health System (SUS).
“The whole process, from collecting the material to issuing the report, takes a maximum of 21 days. The report shows how the cells responded to each treatment, allowing the doctor to have enough information to choose the best therapy for the patient”, says Danielle.
Onco-PDO can be used on breast, lung, colorectal, prostate, pancreatic, gastric and ovarian cancer specimens. The test was classified, in 2017, as a “revolution in drug discovery” by the Stem Cell Institute of Harvard University, in the United States, and as “method of the year” by Nature magazine in 2018.
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