New technology quickly tests the effectiveness of cancer treatment
New technology, designed to test the effectiveness of chemotherapy in cancer treatment over a short period of time – weeks rather than months as before – is showing positive results in preliminary clinical trials.
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| Chemotherapy for cancer treatment. (Photo: Science Photo Library) |
A VNA reporter in Ottawa quoted Dr. Gregory Czarnota, head of the cancer chemotherapy department at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, Canada, as saying that this technology, developed and named WaveCheck, is an experimental ultrasound method that can help observe phenomena occurring inside a tumor undergoing chemotherapy by taking information from an ultrasound scanner.
Test results show that the new technology can tell whether the chemotherapy being used is capable of killing cancer cells, after the therapy has been used for 1-4 weeks.
Dr. Czarnota said that of the 100 women with large breast tumors who were tested with the new technology, 95 percent had results within 1-4 weeks. This allows doctors to adjust treatment based on ultrasound results showing whether the tumor is responding, and the effectiveness of the treatment can be known quickly within just a few weeks.
The study is now being expanded to several hospitals in the Toronto area.
New technology will help patients avoid the side effects of chemotherapy if it is not effective.
Wave Check has been in preclinical studies for 15 years. This is another step forward in treating cancer, the leading cause of death in Canada, accounting for 30% of deaths./.
According to VNA
