Breakthrough Finds Leftover Cancer Cells in Real Time During Surgery
The Fellowship | July 21, 2020
Shomron explains that often there are undetected cancer cells remaining after tumor removal. Because those cells can spread throughout the body, the patient must undergo chemotherapy treatments to kill them.
The problem is that the critical time frame between the surgery and the cancer cell detection lab tests results can be several weeks long, a delay which drastically increases the risk for a renewed cancer spread.
The new tool developed by Shomron and Danilevsky is based on a genetic sequencing device called MinION, produced by Oxford Nanopore Technologies. MinION allows doctors and patients to receive results in minutes to several hours.
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