Posted on Dec 23, 2022
A new kind of blood test can screen for many cancers — as some pregnant people learn
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/12/23/ [login to see] /a-new-kind-of-blood-test-can-screen-for-many-cancers-as-some-pregnant-people-lea
When Kathleen Aukstikalnis was expecting her first baby, she turned to a common prenatal test that a lot of her friends had gotten done during their pregnancies.
The simple blood test looks at DNA that's floating freely in a pregnant person's bloodstream. It searches for bits released by cells in the placenta, which should have the same genetic make-up as the fetus.
Over the last decade, this kind of genetic test has become the go-to method for screening pregnancies for chromosomal abnormalities like Down syndrome, and it's reduced the number of invasive amniocentesis procedures dramatically. Aukstikalnis hoped the test would provide peace of mind, and was also excited that the test would reveal her baby's sex.
"That's really all that I was expecting," she says. "I didn't know that you could find out something about yourself from it."
But she did find out something about herself. In fact, this test sent her on a medical odyssey, one that shows the promise – and challenges – of blood tests that can potentially zero in on DNA released by cancer cells.
When Kathleen Aukstikalnis was expecting her first baby, she turned to a common prenatal test that a lot of her friends had gotten done during their pregnancies.
The simple blood test looks at DNA that's floating freely in a pregnant person's bloodstream. It searches for bits released by cells in the placenta, which should have the same genetic make-up as the fetus.
Over the last decade, this kind of genetic test has become the go-to method for screening pregnancies for chromosomal abnormalities like Down syndrome, and it's reduced the number of invasive amniocentesis procedures dramatically. Aukstikalnis hoped the test would provide peace of mind, and was also excited that the test would reveal her baby's sex.
"That's really all that I was expecting," she says. "I didn't know that you could find out something about yourself from it."
But she did find out something about herself. In fact, this test sent her on a medical odyssey, one that shows the promise – and challenges – of blood tests that can potentially zero in on DNA released by cancer cells.
A new kind of blood test can screen for many cancers — as some pregnant people learn
Posted from npr.org
Pregnancy
Medical
Health
Cancer
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."An overwhelming experience
When Aukstikalnis and her spouse went to the NIH clinical center in July of 2021, to get their slew of tests, they hadn't expected to hear the results right away. And she still didn't really think the tests would find that she was sick.
But at the end of the day, a team of doctors sat them down and said that it looked like she likely had lymphoma. The news came as a shock.
"Hearing that news that you have cancer, it's hard to describe. It's just such, like, an overwhelming experience," she says. "And then you're also pregnant at the same time. Your emotions are kind of all over the place. It was definitely really difficult."
The NIH team helped get her set up with caregivers in her home state, and a biopsy confirmed the diagnosis.
She started chemotherapy even before her baby was born--something that can be done completely safely--and got a lot of help from family and friends, plus online support communities for pregnant women with cancer such as Hope for Two.
In November of last year, her family welcomed a baby girl named McKenna.
"Everything went really smoothly with delivery and she was perfectly normal, she is perfectly healthy," says Aukstikalnis. "That was always something I was nervous about, was it the right decision to get treatment while I was pregnant, you know, could it still end up causing issues? And it didn't. She is doing really well."
Unfortunately, even though Aukstikalnis had what appeared to be a clear scan after the first-line treatment that often puts people in remission, a subsequent scan showed that the lymphoma had likely returned.
She ultimately underwent a stem cell transplant this autumn that required a 26-day hospital stay, during which she wasn't able to see her husband or daughter except over twice-daily video chats.
Now that she's finally home with her family, she's trying to take it easy while her immune system slowly recovers.
"It's like being a newborn baby, all over again," she says. "It's going to take a long time, but I've made it this far, so I know that we can get there."
She hopes that her participation in the IDENTIFY study will help other women who face uncertain test results that might mean cancer.
"I'm incredibly grateful that I found out when I did and then found out I could get treatment at an early stage," she says. "Even though things have been really difficult, I would also say there have been a lot of positive experiences. It really shifted my focus to the things that matter most."
..."An overwhelming experience
When Aukstikalnis and her spouse went to the NIH clinical center in July of 2021, to get their slew of tests, they hadn't expected to hear the results right away. And she still didn't really think the tests would find that she was sick.
But at the end of the day, a team of doctors sat them down and said that it looked like she likely had lymphoma. The news came as a shock.
"Hearing that news that you have cancer, it's hard to describe. It's just such, like, an overwhelming experience," she says. "And then you're also pregnant at the same time. Your emotions are kind of all over the place. It was definitely really difficult."
The NIH team helped get her set up with caregivers in her home state, and a biopsy confirmed the diagnosis.
She started chemotherapy even before her baby was born--something that can be done completely safely--and got a lot of help from family and friends, plus online support communities for pregnant women with cancer such as Hope for Two.
In November of last year, her family welcomed a baby girl named McKenna.
"Everything went really smoothly with delivery and she was perfectly normal, she is perfectly healthy," says Aukstikalnis. "That was always something I was nervous about, was it the right decision to get treatment while I was pregnant, you know, could it still end up causing issues? And it didn't. She is doing really well."
Unfortunately, even though Aukstikalnis had what appeared to be a clear scan after the first-line treatment that often puts people in remission, a subsequent scan showed that the lymphoma had likely returned.
She ultimately underwent a stem cell transplant this autumn that required a 26-day hospital stay, during which she wasn't able to see her husband or daughter except over twice-daily video chats.
Now that she's finally home with her family, she's trying to take it easy while her immune system slowly recovers.
"It's like being a newborn baby, all over again," she says. "It's going to take a long time, but I've made it this far, so I know that we can get there."
She hopes that her participation in the IDENTIFY study will help other women who face uncertain test results that might mean cancer.
"I'm incredibly grateful that I found out when I did and then found out I could get treatment at an early stage," she says. "Even though things have been really difficult, I would also say there have been a lot of positive experiences. It really shifted my focus to the things that matter most."
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Interesting read but far from being conclusive. I agree that a great deal more study should be done on this testing.
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