A great hope has arisen in the fight against a serious disease like cancer. Strand Life Sciences, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has developed a technology that will allow early detection of cancer through a simple blood test. The company has also received a patent for this technology in India. This discovery can become a big relief for millions of people who come to know about this deadly disease when it has reached dangerous levels. Now, with a single blood sample, not only the disease but also its place of origin (tissue-of-origin) in the body can be accurately detected.
Relief news for the common man
Cancer is such a disease that on hearing its name, the patient as well as the entire family gets financially and mentally broken. Talking about statistics, about 15 lakh new cases of cancer are reported every year. The biggest tragedy is that most patients are diagnosed with this disease when treatment options are very limited and the chances of recovery are slim. In such a situation, this new technology can work as a lifesaver. If the disease is identified at an early stage, the chances of survival of the patients increases manifold. The screening methods currently available cover only a few types of cancer and it is difficult to make them available to the general public on a large scale.
How will this technology work
This is a big leap from the point of view of medical science. This new platform mainly works on cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis. In fact, when cancer is growing in the body, certain changes begin to occur in the DNA pattern of the genome, which is called methylation. Strand Life Sciences’ patented technology uses artificial intelligence (machine learning) and high-quality genome sequencing to detect these subtle changes early. This simply means that the patient will not need to undergo many complex tests in the beginning. With just a few drops of blood it can be known whether there is cancer or not.
Big step towards cheap treatment
Another big advantage of this technology is its accessibility. To make it available to people on a large scale, there will be no need to create any heavy and new infrastructure in hospitals. The cost of genome sequencing is gradually decreasing, due to which this test may prove to be quite economical in the future. This Bengaluru-based company originally emerged from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and focuses on precision medicine. The company has vast experience in the field of bioinformatics and modern laboratory technology. Company CEO Ramesh Hariharan clearly believes that cancer has become a major health challenge in India. This new patent further strengthens their resolve to bring accurate, AI-based liquid biopsy technology to every person. Strand Life Sciences is also pursuing research in collaboration with pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies globally.
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