Circulating Tumor DNA Screening detects the mutant cells
"Gene detection" - I believe many of you have heard of it, but how many people really understand what genetic testing is all about? The genetic tests that most people know may be about gender (XY), paternity testing, children's talent expertise, etc. In fact, genetic testing is no longer limited to the above aspects. The current use of genetic testing has extended to clinical medicine and prevention. This time I want to share with you a detection technology that may be the most effective cancer prevention technology at present, called Circulating Tumor DNA Screening (referred to as ctDNA).
The formation of cancer is not a one-off event. With the destruction of the environment, air pollution, genetic modification and processing of food, stress in life and work, and irregular work schedules, the body's resistance will gradually decline, and bad cells will accumulate slowly in the body. If the situation continues, your body will be overwhelmed and eventually become a tumor. From the decline of resistance, accumulation of bad cells to cancer, this process usually takes 10-15 years, medically known as "precancerous lesions."
Most of the early stages of cancer have no obvious symptoms or pain, but if it can be detected early, the 5-year survival rate can generally be 90% or more, but if it is already 3-4 stage patients, the 5-year survival rate may be less than 20%.
To prevent cancer, in addition to a balanced diet, adequate sleep, more exercise, and improve your own immunity, regular physical examination is very important.
Traditional cancer screening methods include blood and stool analysis, tumor marker detection, optical image analysis, endoscopy, etc., but all traditional detection methods have their limitations and accuracy, for example: gastroscope, colonoscopy can be invasive. The detection process will cause inconvenience and make the patient feel uncomfortable. Optical image analysis is generally radioactive and is not recommended. Tumor marker detection, accuracy often has errors. Doctors can only choose the most appropriate examination method for their patients based on their own experience. Sometimes it is difficult to find variant cells in routine physical examinations. Until the discovery of ctDNA Screening, human medicine has undergone tremendous changes. Thanks to the joint efforts of doctors and scientists all over the world, human medicine has been able to find traces of mutant cells before genetic tumors have been formed. This technique is called " Circulating Tumor DNA Screening."
When the mutant cells appear in the body, we may already be in the precancerous stage. The white blood cells in the body will try to burn out and inhibit the growth of these mutant cells. Some of the mutant cells will be burned out by white blood cells, and its gene fragments will remain. In human blood, Circulating Tumor DNA Screening is to check whether there are fragments of these variant cells in the blood. The gene of each variant cell has its own uniqueness. According to its uniqueness, we can infer that the body has changed cells. If it is not controlled, cancer may appear soon.
In fact, the ctDNA screening has been applied since 2000. At that time, it was mainly used in conjunction with surgery and assisted in finding out the tumors that belong to the gene mutation, to use the appropriate target drugs for treatment. Nowadays, tumor gene detection technology has been extended to prevent cancer, and it is not necessary to take tissue samples, just take a small amount of blood. The application of Circulating Tumor DNA Screening can reduce the risk of cancer. The study found that people who have been tested positive for circulating tumors, they do appropriate interventions and changs in lifestyle habits, finally more than 90% positive patients have no cancer occurred within three years. On the other hand, less than 10% people eventually suffer from cancer, but it is still in the early stage. If you have a family history of cancer, a long-term irregular schedule, a disordered diet, an elderly person, obesity, or people with other diseases, you need to do regular Circulating Tumor DNA Screening.
