Jun 23, 2020
Assistant Professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai,
Dr. Augusto Rodriguez, talks about the scope of his work and
research on different aspects of
liver oncology.
In this episode, you will learn:
Dr. Rodriguez’s work centers around the goal of incorporating
molecular information from tumors into tools that can be applied in
the clinical setting to improve prognosis predictions, and
developing novel methods for early detection of liver cancer.
The current gold standard for early detection of liver cancer is a
combination of abdominal ultrasonography to look for evidence of
small tumor formation, and blood tests to identify the levels of a
certain protein known to be elevated in patients with liver
cancer.
So, what’s wrong with the current gold standard? Dr. Rodriguez explains that in addition to operator error with regard to the ultrasound procedure, it requires patients to travel to an imaging center every six months, which is difficult to manage for many people. Due to the inconvenience and difficulty presented by compliance with the gold standard protocol, many people end up developing liver cancer that goes undetected for far too long.
A potential solution that Dr. Rodriguez has his eyes on is a
technology called liquid biopsy. In essence, it entails an analysis
of tumor components within the bloodstream, such as fragments of
DNA from tumors or extracellular vesicles released from tumors. The
detection of such components in a blood sample taken at the point
of care can detect liver tumors when they are very small, leading
to better overall prognosis.
In addition, liquid biopsy may address another complication in the
area of liver cancer treatment, which is the determination of how
best to sequence the many therapies that have become available in
recent years.
Dr. Rodriguez discusses a number of fascinating topics. Tune in
for all the details.
Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK