A Canadian research team has developed a new way to quickly determine personalized treatments for young cancer patients.
The team, led by researchers from the University of British Columbia and BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, focused on growing tumours in chicken eggs and analyzing their protein.
This the first research in Canada to combine these two techniques to identify and test a drug for a young patient’s tumour in time for their treatment.
The study by co-lead authors Dr. Georgina Barnabas, a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Philipp Lange’s lab, and Tariq Bhat, a PhD student in Dr. James Lim’s lab, focused on an unnamed patient diagnosed with a rare pediatric cancer that resisted conventional treatments.
They used a method that involves growing a small piece of the patient’s tumour using a chicken egg.
Having an identical tumour outside the patient allowed them to test for personalized drug responses in a matter of weeks.
Dr. James Lim says the technique speeds up the process of evaluating a treatment option in a way that wouldn’t be possible with traditional methods.
