- In November 2014, Professor Paul Hofman and his team at the Nice University Hospital discovered the presence in the blood of "sentinels", circulating tumor cells.
- The results of a study of 638 patients will be published in the coming days in the scientific journal The Lancet . Its purpose was to test an early detection method for lung cancer by simple blood test.
- The medical profession now wishes to integrate this technique into the "hospital routine".
It made more than 33,117 victims in France in 2018. Among all cancers, that of the lung is the deadliest in men (22,761 deaths) and the second in women (10,356 deaths), according to the National Institute of Cancer.
To combat this scourge, Professor Paul Hofman and his team at the Nice University Hospital have developed an early detection technique by simple blood test. Revealed in 2014 in the American scientific journal Plos One , this "world first" had caused a buzz. Five patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) had circulating cancer cells known as “sentinels” before any detection of symptoms by imaging, and all had triggered cancer, ie 100% sensitivity to the test. It then remained to experiment with this method on a more representative panel.
A test carried out on 638 patients
It is now done, as announced by Professor Paul Hofman this Monday, February 24. As part of the Air project, 638 people at risk (smokers or ex-smokers who consumed one pack a day for thirty years, or two packs a day for fifteen years), suffering from COPD, were examined by a doctor for know their habits. A chest scanner, combined with a blood test, was then performed every year for three years.
If Professor Paul Hofman remains silent on the results of the study which will be the subject of a publication in the scientific journal The Lancet in the coming days, he details the interest of combining blood and scanner: "On an image, we see spots but we do not know if the nodules are cancerous or not. The whole point of taking a blood test is to allow the thoracic surgeon to be sure that what he is going to operate is really cancer, not another lesion, which is extremely common. You should know that the chest scanner gives 30% false positives. "
Reinforcement of artificial intelligence
The CHU de Nice team now wishes to make its screening operational on a daily basis. And faced with Chinese or American competition, time is running out. For this, the Da Capo project was launched with family doctors, hospital and liberal pulmonologists, surgeons and radiologists. One of its goals is to implement a digital platform with a national focus, the beta version of which will be tested in the Alpes-Maritimes.
In parallel, two research areas are developed. The first relates to the search for biomarkers during blood screening. "We can, depending on what we find in the blood, define a targeted therapy for a patient suffering from lung cancer." This is proof that we can bring what we do in a research laboratory to the bed of the patient, ”points out Professor Paul Hofman.
The second part is based on the contribution of an artificial intelligence (AI) developed by mathematicians from the Inria center in Sophia-Antipolis. “When you have an abnormality detected on a chest scanner, it takes about three to nine months for you to know in fine whether it is cancer, a benign lesion or something else. If it is with AI, we will go much faster, ”explains Professor Charles-Hugo Marquette.
Be accessible to all
A final battle remains to be fought for the CHU team. "So that this test is accessible to all and does not depend on the financial means of the patients", the medical profession wishes that its screening method be supported by Social Security. An approach that the deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes Eric Ciotti intends to defend politically.
Nice
An early blood test to screen for lung cancer
science
French Riviera: She wants to put artificial intelligence at the service of the fight against cancer
- Chu
- Lung cancer
- Health
- Nice