Chemo Optimisation
Remove the ’trial and error’ element to your medicine, assess the effectiveness of individual drugs on your circulating tumour cells before treatment even begins.
Chemo Optimisation
Each patient is unique, and their tumour is equally distinct. Consequently, the effectiveness of drugs can vary significantly from one patient to another. To determine the most promising medication before initiating treatment, it is advisable to conduct tests using maintrac® Chemo optimisation. This analysis can serve as a foundation for informed decision-making by the doctor and the patient regarding subsequent therapeutic choices.
Evaluating drug efficacy involves utilising the tumour cells released into the bloodstream, similar to cell count measurements. The circulating tumour cells (CETCs/CTCs) are directly exposed to different medications. The patient’s blood, mixed with the blood equivalent of the daily dose of the respective medicines, is incubated in a test tube (in vitro). The response of CETCs/CTCs to the drugs is then compared to a control sample without medication. The results indicate the most effective medicine in eradicating the tumour cells in the blood.
How it works
We enable the assessment of medication efficacy, both before and during treatment. It allows for the testing of conventional and alternative medicine preparations. Ideally, the substances for testing should be in liquid form, suitable for intravenous administration to the patient.
The following graph shows the drug testing on ovarian cancer patient. The doctors chose guideline therapy (Carboplatin/Paclitaxel). Under therapy the cell number increased significantly, a sign for a not working therapy. Progression of the disease was reported.
The bars below showed however that Caelyx/Doxorubicin had always a much higher killing rate than the guideline therapy. As you can also see to the end of therapy when the better chemotherapy was chosen the cell number went down.
After in-vitro medication testing, it is crucial to perform follow-up cell count tests to confirm the sustained impact of the drugs on circulating tumour cells in the blood. Typically, a decrease in cell count indicates a successful therapy.
We can still facilitate drug testing even when the tumour has been removed.
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