Therapy Relevant Characteristics of Circulating Tumour Cells (VEGFR2)
For a patient, cancer is an intrusive diagnosis entailing many changes and consequences. Medicine and research face difficult challenges with this highly complex disease. The heterogeneity and rapid transformability of tumours is particularly challenging for diagnostics and therapy. maintrac? addresses precisely this issue. Solid tumours release cells into the bloodstream. Some of these circulating epithelial tumour cells are responsible for metastasis. The maintrac? precision diagnostic procedure is able to identify and quantify circulating tumour cells. Because the method is extremely sensitive, circulating tumour cells can be detected soon after a diagnosis of a primary tumour, thus allowing therapy decisions to be made in a timely manner. This early detection is primarily possible because cells do not need to be fixed or concentrated; they are analysed in real time from a blood sample. In addition to quantitative data, the procedure uses circulating tumour cells to characterise other tumour properties relevant for therapy. The method and possibilities relating to various tumour entities.
VEGFR2 (Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor)
VEGFR2 is one of three members in the VEGF receptor family. VEGFR2 is a receptor tyrosine kinase which has ligands (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors – VEGFs) with various properties. As indicated by the name, these signal molecules are present in all vascular tissue. Among other functions, they play an important role in forming new vessels (angiogenesis) by mediating the formation of new endothelial tissue.
An immunocytochemical method is used to detect VEGFR2 on circulating tumour cells. The procedure involves a specific fluorescence-labelled antibody binding to the receptor; cells that have the receptor can then be assessed under a microscope.
Several tumours show elevated levels of expression of the ligands of VEGF. The humanised monoclonal antibody bevacizumab (trade name AVASTIN?) was developed to target this growth factor; it binds to VEGF and thus inhibits binding to the receptor. This in turn blocks transmission of growth signals and hence angiogenesis. With no blood vessels being formed, supply of oxygen and nutrients to the tumour is reduced and growth is inhibited.
At present, bevacizumab is clinically approved for use in treating advanced colon, lung, breast, renal, ovarian and cervical cancer.
maintrac is an innovative analysis platform in cancer diagnostics and therapy monitoring. Maintrac identifies and quantifies the circulating tumor cells in the blood sample of cancer patients and analyzes the efficacy of selected drugs. In clinical trials with more than 900 patients, maintrac has demonstrated that monitoring circulating tumor cells in the adjuvant situation, during maintenance and antibody therapy in breast cancer has significant benefits. Possible relapses can be recognized at an early stage.
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