Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have developed a method that allows for the early detection of a common mechanism of resistance on drug treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia.
The authors were able to detect a specific point mutation, which is associated with acquired resistance to the drugs Gleevec (imatinib mesylate), Sprycel (dasatinib), and Tasigna (nilotinib), as much as 100 days earlier than standard tests used in clinical practice today. In the future, this strategy could allow doctors to identify early relapse with this mutation (as well as others) and consider changing to alternatives earlier in treatment than they can now.
Today's issue of Nature Magazine's journal, Leukemia, discloses the work of Vivian Oehler, M.D. and Jerald Radich, M.D. of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In the letter, Dr. Oehler describes how she uses a Fluidigm integrated fluidic circuit (called a digital array). "Using this method, we can detect just a few mutated molecules in the background of as many as 100,000 molecules. It is a little like looking for a needle-in-a-haystack by first dividing the haystack into many smaller haystacks, which makes it easier to find the needle," explained Dr. Oehler. The Fluidigm Digital Array uses nanoscale channels, valves and pumps to partition samples into up to 9,180 chambers prior to PCR.