my personal edition > pathology > news
E-Mail this DGNews to a colleague
DGNews
New Pathology Tests Double Sensitivity to Detect Bile Duct, Pancreatic Cancers
ROCHESTER, Minn -- June 1, 2009 -- Researchers have developed new pathology tests that double the ability to detect bile duct and pancreatic cancers. The results appear in the June issue of the journal Gastroenterology.
Pancreatic cancer and bile duct cancer are difficult to diagnose and often fatal because they are discovered in the advanced stages of the disease.
In the study, 498 patients with pancreatobiliary duct narrowing underwent an endoscopic procedure, and cell brushings were taken. Brushings were then analysed by routine cytology, digital image analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to determine the various tests' effectiveness and sensitivity in detecting and diagnosing cancer.
While traditional cytology analysis relies on identifying abnormally shaped cells, the FISH test detects malignant cells using coloured probes visible with a fluorescence microscope. Since cancer cells have an abnormal amount of DNA, by FISH these cells show extra copies of the probes compared with normal cells.
Lewis Roberts, PhD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues found that the combination of cytology and FISH raised the detection rate of bile duct and pancreatic cancer from 20% to 43%.
"We were very pleased to see that the combination of FISH and cytology significantly improved our chances of diagnosing patients reliably," said Dr. Roberts. "The earlier we can diagnose a patient, the better the types of treatment we can offer and the more likely they are to have long-term survival after treatment."
SOURCE: Mayo Clinic
All contents Copyright (c) 1995-2009 Doctor's Guide Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
| 
