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Blood test picks out prostate cancer drug resistance 04
Blood test picks out prostate cancer drug resistance
Scientists have developed a blood test that can identify key mutations driving resistance to a widely used prostate cancer drug, and identify in advance patients who will not respond to treatment.
The new research paves the way for information from a blood test to inform prostate cancer treatment in future, with only those patients whose cancers are free of resistance mutations taking the drug, abiraterone.
The study is also a proof of principle that tests for cancer DNA in the bloodstream can be used to detect drug resistance mutations – allowing patients who will not benefit from one drug to be given an alternative treatment instead.