Just how effective are cancer drugs?By the researchers counting the number of the prostate cancer cells, they have found out that them help the doctors predict which drug works best. From the clinical test of the drug Johnson and Johnson, a newly approved drug by Zytiga  the men who had the lowest level of the tumor that floats off from the main  tumor had the best chances of survival. Also in separate study conducted out of the 830 lung cancer patients half had at least one of the 10 genetic mutations that are known to drive lung cancer. This could provide guidelines for the doctors to make treatment decisions.

The effect of research on cancer on the effectiveness of drugs

The studies that were presented at the American society of clinical oncology meeting held in Chicago are part of the search of the spin that the biologicalsignals known as the biomarkers can be used to predict whether the drug will work. The research is aimed to speed the treatment and reduce the clinical trials by giving the doctors the early sign if the drug is working or not.

In a prostate cancer study that was, which was led by Dr. Howard Scher of the memorial Sloan – Kettering cancer center looked to show if the test that tarp the circulating cancer tumor cells could show whether the patients are responding to the cancer drug.so far the Johnson and Johnson’s Veridex has been the approved system for capturing these rare cells.

The study of the circulation of the tumor cells

During the study the Scher team analyzed a sample of 1196 men who had advanced prostate cancer that showed zytiga. This is otherwise known as abiraterone, extended people’s lives. Also the scher team looked to establish whether there was relation between the men who faired best and the amount of the cancer tumor cells that circulated in their bodies. After the testing of 972 men at the early stages of the trial and also testing 723 men after a period of three months they found out that abiraterone cut the number of the circulating cancer cells and the men who had the lower amount of the circulating cancer cells had a higher probability of surviving. Scher added that test would be used to test whether the cancer drugs were working.

For the cancer study, the researchers took 1000 sample from the patients who had a type of lung cancer called adenocarcinoma. Test of the first 830 showed that 54 % of the patient had the mutation that drives the tumor growth.

Dr. Mark Kris who is the head of the thoracic oncology service at thememorial Sloan – Kettering cancer center added that driver mutations control cancer growth. He also said that if you negate the effect of the mutation in the lab, the cancer cells usually die. In the study 97 % of the driver mutations were the primary driver of the cancer making them vital for the selecting of the cancer drugs. He also said that they are not able to test the patient on a routine to identify the mutation that drives the lung cancer, mainly because of cost of the experiments.