Primary tumors generate a type of malignant cells, the so-called circulating tumor cells (CTC), whose presence alerts them to the development of the disease . The problem is that because CTCs are large, irregular and tend to form clumps, they get stuck in small blood vessels.
This is the case, in theory, with CTCs released by gastrointestinal tumors: after flowing through the portal vein (which carries blood between the gastrointestinal tract and the liver), they end up trapped in the hepatic capillaries. For this reason, few tumor cells reach the veins in the arms, where tests are routinely performed.
Now, a group of researchers from the University of Chicago has empirically verified this assumption by drawing blood from the portal vein of 18 patients suspected of having contracted tumors in the pancreas or bile ducts , an intervention that was performed during routine endoscopies. The result leaves no room for doubt: the scientists found CTCs in 100% of the patients, while only 4 of the 18 conventional extractions in the arms detected these malignant cells.
Safe and minimally invasive, this method can decisively help to make more accurate and earlier diagnoses before the tumor has metastasized and, for example, still supports surgical treatment. Also, experts indicate, it will allow personalized therapies, according to the number and type of CTCs that are detected.
Pancreatic cancer, one of the most aggressive that exists, kills 4,400 Spaniards every year.
