Innovative and reliable diagnostic tests for personalized treatment

They achieve:

• early detection of the disease
• monitoring the course and the genetic variability of the disease
• identify chemotherapeutic drugs and other natural substances in which a particular cancer is vulnerable at any stageη

Circulating Cancer Cells (CCCs)

Circulating cancer cells (CCCs) are cells that are detached from the primary tumor and are drift by blood or lymph flow. It is these cells that will create the metastases, where they will find suitable conditions. Their quantity levels in blood are very small, but these are the cells that will determine the future of the patient. Detection and isolation is a priority for most personalized oncology centers in the Western world. In Greece, the technology of the specialized research group RGCC, which has developed the innovative method of abstract cell selection, is used for these tests. This technology provides 86.6% sensitivity and 83.3% specificity in identifying and matching CCCs.

The process

From the patient's blood sample, all non-cancerous cells (red and white blood cells, platelets) are sequentially removed, leaving only the CCC at the end. The high success rates are due precisely to the fact that CCCs have not undergone any treatment with identifying antibodies, filters and other isolation methods. So they retain all their vitality and qualities. At the end the CCCs are then cultivated in appropriate nutrients.

Chemosensitivity tests

There is growing interest in personalized cancer treatments around the world. Determination of the appropriate treatment for each case can be done only with the chemosensitivity test of the cultivated tumor cells. The concept is the same as the antibiotic susceptibility test of microbial cultures. In contrast, conventional oncology is primarily based on the statistical analysis of groups of patients who have been treated comparatively with different drugs.

The scientific value of these statistical studies is great, but it does not concern any particular patient. It concerns the response of a whole set of patients, in purely statistical terms. In contrast, the chemosensitivity test performed by RGCC relates exclusively to the cancer cells of a particular patient. It determines which specific drugs and other natural substances give the best therapeutic response for this unique patient. These tests are performed on the patient's blood, except in cases of brain tumors, where biopsy material from the tumor itself is usually needed. Cancer cells from the sample are isolated, identified and cultivated for the following analyzes:

• Genetic profiles for guidance on better targeting treatments, e.g. with or without monoclonal antibodies, whether or not they need to neutralize molecular "pumps" that remove the drug from the cell, etc.
• Identification of cancer cell viability mechanisms.
• Tumor cell viability control after chemotherapeutic effect (indicates expected efficiency of each drug)
• The results of all tests are presented in a practical that the therapist will use as a guide to help with treatment choices. In addition, based on these results, we will know how the patient's body will "handle" the chemotherapy drugs: our genetic status determines whether we will behave as "accumulators" or "fast metabolizers" of the drugs. This can play a critical role in determining how effective a particular treatment will be for the patient, and how severe the side effects will be, and ultimately what medication the therapist will choose.