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Cancers Can Be Detected in the Bloodstream Three Years Prior to Diagnosis

The AHA! Team — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 05:20:22 +0000

Johns Hopkins Medicine via Newswise – The study, partly funded by the National Institutes of Health, was published May 22 in Cancer Discovery. Genetic material shed by tumors can be detected in the bloodstream three years prior to cancer diagnosis, according to a study led by investigators at the Ludwig Center at Johns Hopkins, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study, partly funded by the National Institutes of Health, was published May 22 in Cancer Discovery. Investigators were surprised they could detect cancer-derived mutations in the blood so much earlier, says lead study author Yuxuan Wang, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “Three years earlier provides time for intervention. The tumors are likely to be much less advanced and more likely to be curable.” To determine how early cancers could be detected prior to clinical signs or symptoms, Wang and colleagues assessed plasma samples that were collected for the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, a large National Institutes of Health-funded study to investigate risk factors for heart attack, stroke, heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases. They used highly accurate and sensitive sequencing techniques to analyze blood samples from 26 participants in the ARIC study who were diagnosed with cancer within six months after sample collection, and 26 from similar participants who were not diagnosed with cancer. At the time of blood sample collection, eight of these 52 participants scored positively on a multicancer early detection (MCED) laboratory test. All eight were diagnosed within four months following blood collection. For six of the eight individuals, investigators also were able to assess additional blood samples collected 3.1–3.5 years prior to diagnosis, and in four of these cases, tumor-derived mutations could also be identified in samples taken at the earlier timepoint. MCED tests “This study shows the promise of MCED tests in detecting cancers very early, and sets the benchmark sensitivities required for their success,” says Bert Vogelstein, M.D., Clayton Professor of Oncology, co-director of the Ludwig Center at Johns Hopkins and a senior author on the study. Detecting cancers years before their clinical diagnosis “Detecting cancers years before their clinical diagnosis could help provide management with a more favorable outcome,” adds Nickolas Papadopoulos, Ph.D., professor of oncology, Ludwig Center investigator and senior author of the study. “Of course, we need to determine the appropriate clinical follow-up after a positive test for such cancers.” The study was supported in part by National Institutes of Health grant #s R21NS113016, RA37CA230400, U01CA230691, P30 CA 06973, DRP 80057309, and U01 CA164975. Additional funding was provided by the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Fund for Cancer Research, the Commonwealth Fund, the Thomas M Hohman Memorial Cancer Research Fund, The Sol Goldman Sequencing Facility at Johns Hopkins, The Conrad R. Hilton Foundation, the Benjamin Baker Endowment, Swim Across America, Burroughs Wellcome Career Award for Medical Scientists, Conquer Cancer – Fred J. Ansfield, MD, Endowed Young Investigator Award, and The V Foundation for Cancer Research. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under contract numbers 75N92022D00001, 75N92022D00002, 75N92022D00003, 75N92022D00004, and 75N92022D00005. To read the original article click here.

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Mount Sinai Researchers Present Encouraging Clinical Trial Results on Novel Therapy for Bone Marrow Cancer

AHA Publisher — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 08:00:51 +0000

Mount Sinai Health System via Newswise – New York, NY (December 11, 2021) — Mount Sinai physician-scientists have found that a novel therapy for the bone marrow cancer myelofibrosis is safe and well-tolerated and is associated with modest improvements in patients in a Phase 1b clinical trial. They shared their findings during an oral presentation at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in December. Patients on the therapy, called AVID200, showed improvements in symptom burden, anemia, and spleen enlargement. The results confirmed the therapy’s safety and showed some evidence of efficacy—though safety and finding the optimal dose was the primary goal—and researchers concluded that the therapy would need to be combined with other drugs to optimize impact in patients. “This is a real testament to cutting-edge translational research at The Tisch Cancer Institute,” said John Mascarenhas, MD, Director of the Institute’s newly launched Center of Excellence for Blood Cancer and Myeloid Disorders, which was created to translate science into cures for patients with blood cancers. “Our scientists tested this therapy in the lab, physician-scientists conducted a successful phase 1 trial, and now the optimal combination therapy approach is the subject of ongoing laboratory studies at Mount Sinai. The most interesting finding in this trial was that a subset of patients had a lasting improvement in their platelet counts—including three whose counts were normalized—supporting the preclinical studies conducted by Mount Sinai researchers Ronald Hoffman, MD, Anna Rita Migliaccio, PhD, and Lillian Varricchio, PhD.” Myelofibrosis is a type of bone marrow cancer that disrupts the normal production of blood cells, causing an enlarged spleen, extensive scarring in the bone marrow, and low levels of red blood cells and platelets, increasing the risk of bleeding. Myelofibrosis patients who have failed the available first-line therapy face a well-documented poor prognosis, so additional therapies are urgently needed to help these patients. Twenty-one patients enrolled in this multicenter trial were given AVID200, and while this trial’s main purpose was to test safety, some patients had an increase in platelets and their enlarged spleens decreased in size. However, despite the clinical benefits observed, patients’ bone marrow scarring did not decline, so doctors believe that AVID200 likely needs to be combined with other rational therapies in the future. In addition to this study, Mount Sinai has launched the new Center of Excellence for Blood Cancers and Myeloid Disorders to further deepen its commitment to quality care for blood and bone marrow cancer patients. A leader in the study and treatment of leukemias, including myeloproliferative neoplasms and myelodysplastic syndromes, the Center is one of the busiest and most well-recognized programs in the country. It is part of The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai, a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center. The Center is focused on bringing multi-disciplinary, cutting-edge, highly personalized care to patients with all forms of blood cancer and myeloid disorders. The Center brings together world-leading physicians to provide exceptional patient care that draws from their experience, innovation, clinical trials, research, and education. “At the Center of Excellence for Blood Cancers and Myeloid Disorders, we believe everyone deserves personalized and excellent care, so we develop an individualized treatment plan for you, using the latest technologies and advances in biologic understanding,” said Dr. Mascarenhas, who is also Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) at Icahn Mount Sinai. “We use genetic, epigenetic, cell signaling, and immunologic factors in developing your treatment plan. We are skilled in stem cell transplantation, and we are experts at overcoming graft-versus-host-disease, one of the main challenges of stem cell transplant. Through this center, and our ongoing research, we will continue to make progress in the diagnosis and treatment of blood cancers among our patients.” To read the original article click here.

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Breakthrough Study Shows Hyperbaric Oxygen Can Reverse Aging

AHA Publisher — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 08:00:48 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – Hyperbaric oxygen treatments can stop the aging of blood cells and even reverse the aging process in healthy aging adults, according to a recently published study from scientists at Tel Aviv University (TAU) and Shamir Medical Center. The researchers found that a unique protocol of high-pressure oxygen treatments in a pressure chamber can reverse two major processes associated with aging: the shortening of telomeres (protective regions at both ends of every chromosome) and the accumulation of old, malfunctioning (senescent) cells. “For many years, our team has been engaged in hyperbaric research and therapy — treatments based on protocols of exposure to high-pressure oxygen at various concentrations inside a pressure chamber,” explained Prof. Shai Efrati of the Sackler School of Medicine and Sagol School of Neuroscience at TAU and founder and director of the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research at Shamir Medical Center. “Our achievements included the improvement of brain functions damaged by age, stroke or brain injury,” Efrati said. In 2017, ISRAEL21c reported on another Tel Aviv University study that revealed that hyperbaric oxygen treatments helped ameliorate symptoms experienced by people with Alzheimer’s. “In the current study we wished to examine the impact of HBOT on healthy and independent aging adults, and to discover whether such treatments can slow down, stop or even reverse the normal aging process at the cellular level,” said Efrati. The researchers exposed 35 healthy adults aged 64 or over to a series of 60 hyperbaric sessions over a period of 90 days. Each participant provided blood samples before, during and at the end of the treatments as well as a week or two after the series of treatments concluded. They then analyzed immune cells in participants’ blood and discovered a lengthening of up to 38 percent in the telomeres. “Today, telomere shortening is considered the ‘Holy Grail’ of the biology of aging,” Efrati says. “Researchers around the world are trying to develop pharmacological and environmental interventions that enable telomere elongation. Our HBOT protocol was able to achieve this, proving that the aging process can in fact be reversed at the basic cellular-molecular level.” More effective than lifestyle modifications Dr. Amir Hadanny, chief medical research officer of the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research, said that until now, interventions such as lifestyle modifications and intense exercise were shown to have some inhibiting effect on telomere shortening. “But in our study, only three months of HBOT were able to elongate telomeres at rates far beyond any currently available interventions or lifestyle modifications,” Hadanny said. “With this pioneering study, we have opened a door for further research on the cellular impact of HBOT and its potential for reversing the aging process.” In their paper published in the journal Aging on November 18, they also report that the treated study participants also had a decrease of up to 37% in nonfunctioning senescent cells. Multiplace chambers The unique HBOT therapy featured in this study was done at the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research in Be’er Ya’akov using a multi-seat hyperbaric chamber – not the one-person tanks many people are familiar with. This protocol is available to the public at Sagol and in the United States at Aviv Clinics in The Villages, Florida. Efrati is chairman of the medical advisory board of Aviv Scientific, owner of Aviv Clinics. Hadanny, a neurosurgeon, is the company’s chief researcher and head of international clinical operations. Efrati and Hadanny have done many other studies on the benefits of HBOT. A previous randomized controlled clinical trial led by Efrati and Hadanny, published in Aging last June, found that HBOT in healthy people 60 and older caused cognitive enhancements in attention, information processing speed and executive functions, compared to the control group. In March 2019, ISRAEL21c reported on another study by Efrati and Hadanny suggesting that HBOT was helpful for survivors of childhood sexual abuse who developed fibromyalgia (a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain, fatigue and cognitive issues) as a result of their post-traumatic distress. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

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