Over the years, oncology has been seeking a simplified test to predict an individualized cancer treatment option for patients. As a result, various chemo-sensitivity test assays have been developed which are only based on simple points and use cellular-viability techniques. However none have been as successful as MICRO-ARRAY analysis, which allows us to test the expression of multiple genes at the same time, as a result of the below:
- Other techniques are based mainly on viability colorimetric techniques and tend to have a higher rate of false positive and false negative results. These incidents are dramatically reduced with the use of MICRO-ARRAY analysis.
- MICRO-ARRAY analysis requires only 10 days completing, while other techniques require 40+ days to complete the analysis.
- MICRO-ARRAY analysis can be performed either on whole blood samples through isolation of circulating cancer cells or on tissue samples in the earlier stages of the disease. Other techniques are limited only to the use tissue samples, which are not always available, especially in advanced stages of the disease in patients that are multi-treated.
- Other techniques cannot provide the oncologist with the necessary, life-saving details about the capabilities of the disease in individual patients. MICRO-ARRAY provides the oncologist, among other things, with the information concerning metastatic abilities of the tumor, the resistance mechanisms, and a way to the reverse the negative trend.
- Other techniques, using cell culture development, test only a cell line from the tissue sample, however the cell line is only one sub-clone from the total metastatic cancer cell population. Therefore, the analysis provides information only for that specific sub-clone. In the case of MICRO-ARRAY, the cultivation is performed in short periods (primary cultures) to avoid the disclosure of many sub-clones. Hence, the analysis involves all the metastatic sub-clones from the tumor.
IN SUMMARY, MICRO-ARRAY OFFERS ACCURATE, SPECIFIC, AND SPEEDY ANALYSIS, WHICH MAKES IT AN INNOVATIVE AND POWERFUL TOOL IN THE HANDS OF AN ONCOLOGIST.