Counting tumour cells clue to treatment

Cancer scientists have published research suggesting that counting lung cancer cells circulating in the blood stream could determine the best treatment to use.

Counting circulating tumour cells (CTCs) could be a simple way to monitor how well a patient is responding to treatment within a few weeks of starting it, the research shows, meaning doctors could move patients onto new treatments quicker.

The Cancer Research UK scientists said the method was a much less invasive way to look at the cancer cells before and after a new treatment to see if the drug is working.

The research has been published this week in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.