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Hopkins researchers working to make blood test to detect cancer
Mindy Basara
Reporter
Hopkins researchers working to make blood test to detect cancer
11 NEWS MEDICAL REPORTER MINDY BASARA JOINS US TO EXPLAIN. THIS IS INCREDIBLE. MINDY: THIS IS REALLY EXCITING STUFF. WE ARE GEEKING OUT OVER THIS. HOPKINS SCIENTISTS HAVE DEVELOPED A BLOOD TEST FOR LIVER CANCER CALLED DELFI. IT STANDS FOR DNA EVALUATION OF FRAGMENTS FOR EARLY INTERCEPTION. BASICALLY, IT DETECTS DNA FROM CANCER CELLS FLOATING AROUND IN YOUR BLOOD. >> IT’S ALMOST LIKE A SPACE AGE TECHNOLOGY. MINDY: DR. VICTOR VELCULESCU AND HIS TEAM AT THE JOHNS HOPKINS KIMMEL CANCER CENTER HAVE DEVELOPED GROUND-BREAKING TECHNOLOGY. IN A STUDY OF 724 PEOPLE AT HIGH RISK FOR LIVER CANCER, THEY WERE ABLE TO DETECT 88% OF LIVER CANCER INCIDENCES, EVEN IN ITS EARLIEST STAGES, WITH A SIMPLE BLOOD DRAW. >> IT’S AN APPROACH THAT LOOKS IN THE BLOOD AND DETECTS PIECES OF DNA THAT ARE COMING FROM A CANCER. HERE IS WHERE WE PROCESS THE BLOOD. MINDY: ZACHARIAH FODA IS ONE OF THE STUDY’S AUTHORS. HE SAYS IT’S MORE THAN JUST EXTRACTING DNA. >> ONCE IT’S SEQUENCED, THAT’S SORT OF WHEN THE MAGIC HAPPENS. THIS IS ONE OF THE DATA STREAMS THAT WE CREATED FROM THE SEQUENCING DATA. MINDY: ULTIMATELY, ALL THIS DATA IS TRANSLATED INTO SOMETHING LIKE THIS. >> WE’RE VERY EXCITED TO BE DOING THIS AND IT’S AT A TIME WHEN WE CAN BRING TOGETHER THESE TECHNOLOGIES IN THE LAB WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO DEVELOP SOMETHING THAT’S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. MINDY: AND EARLY DETECTION OF LIVER CANCER IS KEY TO SAVING LIVES. >> VERY QUICKLY THIS DISEASE ACTUALLY BECOMES METASTATIC AND VERY DIFFICULT TO TREAT. >> I THINK IT’S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE NOW HAVE ANOTHER TOOL TO ADD TO OUR ARSENAL OF DETECTING CANCER FOR PATIENTS WITH LIVER DISEASE WHO ARE AT RISK FOR THESE LIVER CANCERS, LESS THAN 20% OF THEM ARE GETTING THE APPROPRIATE SCREENING. THAT’S BECAUSE OF THE COST OF THE ULTRASOUND AS WELL AS ACCESSIBILITY. >> ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF THE APPROACH WE’VE DEVELOPED IS IT’S VERY COST-EFFICIENT. IT’S INEXPENSIVE. WE THINK THIS MEANS ULTIMATELY IT WILL BE ABLE TO GET OUT TO EVERYBODY IN SOCIETY, AND EVEN BENEFIT THOSE AROUND THE WORLD. MINDY: LIVER CANCER IS THE THIRD LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH WORLDWIDE. 800,000 PEOPLE DIE OF IT EACH YEAR, SO IMAGINE HOW MANY LIVES COULD BE SAVED WITH EARLY DETECTION THROUGH A BLOOD TEST. HOPKINS RESEARCHERS USED THE SAME KIND OF TECHNOLOGY TO DETECT LUNG CANCER IN A STUDY LAST YEAR, AND THE HOPE IS THIS IS THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE FOR ALL KINDS OF CANCERS. KAI: OF COURSE THIS IS A LIMITED NUMBER OF PEOPLE. DID THEY GIVE YOU A GOOD IDEA IN TERMS OF THE TIMELINE AS TO HOW LONG WE WOULD BE WAITING FOR THIS TO BE MORE WIDESPREAD? MINDY: THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION. THEY ARE HOPING BY NEXT YEAR THE CAN USE THIS LIVER TEST FOR HIGH-RISK PEOPLE. DOWN THE LINE WE ARE TALKING YEARS, N
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Hopkins researchers working to make blood test to detect cancer
Mindy Basara
Reporter
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are working to make detecting cancer as easy as drawing blood.Hopkins scientists have developed a blood test called DELFI, which stands for DNA Evaluation of Fragments for Early Interception. It detects DNA from cancer cells floating around in blood.Dr. Victor Velculescu and his team at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed the groundbreaking technology."It's almost like a space-age technology," Velculescu said.In a study of 724 people at high risk for liver cancer, researchers were able to detect 88% of liver cancer incidences -- even in its earliest stages -- with a simple blood draw."It's an approach that looks in the blood and detects pieces of DNA that are coming from the cancer," Velculescu said.Zachariah Foda, one of the study's authors, said it's more than just extracting DNA."Once it's sequenced, that's when the magic happens," Foda said. "This is one of the data streams that we created from the sequencing data."Ultimately, all the data is translated using technology."We're very excited to be doing this, and it's at a time when we can bring together these technologies in the lab with artificial intelligence to develop something that's never been done before," Velculescu said.Early detection of liver cancer is key to saving lives. Liver cancer is the third leading cause of death worldwide with 800,000 people dying from it each year."Very quickly, this disease becomes metastatic and very difficult to treat," Velculescu said. "One of the benefits of the approach we developed is it's very cost-effective, it's inexpensive. We think this means, ultimately, it will be able to get out to everybody in society, and even benefit those around the world.""I think it's very important that we now have another tool to our arsenal of detecting cancer for patients with liver disease who are at risk for these liver cancers. Less than 20% of them are getting the appropriate screening -- that's because of the cost of the ultrasound as well as accessibility," Foda said.Hopkins researchers used the same kind of technology to detect lung cancer in a study last year, and they hope DELFI will be the wave of the future for all kinds of cancers.Watch the video above for the full story.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are working to make detecting cancer as easy as drawing blood.

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Hopkins scientists have developed a blood test called DELFI, which stands for DNA Evaluation of Fragments for Early Interception. It detects DNA from cancer cells floating around in blood.

Dr. Victor Velculescu and his team at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed the groundbreaking technology.

"It's almost like a space-age technology," Velculescu said.

In a study of 724 people at high risk for liver cancer, researchers were able to detect 88% of liver cancer incidences -- even in its earliest stages -- with a simple blood draw.

"It's an approach that looks in the blood and detects pieces of DNA that are coming from the cancer," Velculescu said.

Zachariah Foda, one of the study's authors, said it's more than just extracting DNA.

"Once it's sequenced, that's when the magic happens," Foda said. "This is one of the data streams that we created from the sequencing data."

Ultimately, all the data is translated using technology.

"We're very excited to be doing this, and it's at a time when we can bring together these technologies in the lab with artificial intelligence to develop something that's never been done before," Velculescu said.

Early detection of liver cancer is key to saving lives. Liver cancer is the third leading cause of death worldwide with 800,000 people dying from it each year.

"Very quickly, this disease becomes metastatic and very difficult to treat," Velculescu said. "One of the benefits of the approach we developed is it's very cost-effective, it's inexpensive. We think this means, ultimately, it will be able to get out to everybody in society, and even benefit those around the world."

"I think it's very important that we now have another tool to our arsenal of detecting cancer for patients with liver disease who are at risk for these liver cancers. Less than 20% of them are getting the appropriate screening -- that's because of the cost of the ultrasound as well as accessibility," Foda said.

Hopkins researchers used the same kind of technology to detect lung cancer in a study last year, and they hope DELFI will be the wave of the future for all kinds of cancers.

Watch the video above for the full story.