Developing a blood test to detect if cancers have spread
Dr Alison Allan is developing a blood test to detect cancer cells in the bloodstream, helping to target areas for radiotherapy and increase survival for people with metastatic disease.
Charity Partner
Research Institute
Researcher
Dr Alison Allan
90%
An estimated 90% of cancer deaths in Canada are caused by cancer that has metastasized.
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$450,000
Funding goal when this project goes live for fundraising.
Project Summary
When cancer spreads away from the original tumour, it becomes much harder to treat and reduces the likelihood of survival. There is no current way to easily and reliably tell how many areas cancer cells have spread to in people with metastatic cancer.
Dr Allan will design a special blood test to detect how many sites cancer has spread to and will then test almost 500 people with metastatic cancer. The test detects tumour cells, immune system cells and small chunks of DNA from tumour cells that have been released into the bloodstream. By looking at this data, the researchers hope to easily determine which people have metastatic disease that has only spread minimally. These people could be treated with radiotherapy, increasing survival and potentially even curing some people with minimally metastatic cancer.
| Research Team |