Monitoring Made Easy:
How Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center’s Radich Lab is using Tasso to expand point-of-care cancer monitoring access
Many patients worldwide lack convenient access to healthcare, especially in the rural and developing world. To overcome the gap between recommended and actual monitoring, there is a need for patient-centric blood testing solutions that do not require complex logistics. At the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, researchers are partnering with Tasso to develop life-saving cancer monitoring in even the most remote locations.
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients require frequent disease monitoring to facilitate their treatment and achieve long-term survival, yet the majority of patients fail to participate in optimal monitoring programs. Access is a key barrier, as patients may live remotely or far from a clinic, especially in the developing world. Dr. Jerald Radich, Professor and Kurt Enslein Endowed Chair at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, is investigating new technologies to enable monitoring despite access challenges.
Radich’s lab is centered on developing detection and treatment methodologies for leukemia. In partnership with the Max Foundation in Seattle, the Radich Lab works to offer free CML testing in the developing world. CML testing examines the patient’s blood for transcripts of BCR::ABL1, a gene associated with the disease. Blood testing initiatives abroad, such as the Radich Lab-Max Foundation program, face access challenges due to geography, lack of transport logistics, and poor supplies of medical equipment such as needles or vacutainers.
Jerald Radich, MD
Professor and Kurt Enslein Endowed Chair at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
A Shelf-Stable Solution
Radich and his team had identified dried blood spot (DBS) testing as an ideal solution. Unlike the time-sensitive and costly logistics associated with shipping liquid blood in a developing nation, DBS samples are stable at ambient temperature and thus easier to transport to the laboratory. In a previous publication, the lab had demonstrated that BCR::ABL1 transcripts are stable in DBS samples, enabling their use for CML patient monitoring. With the sample matrix determined, their next challenge was to make DBS sampling more accessible to patients.
Tasso’s DBS collection device, Tasso-M20, was a natural fit for the project. The Tasso-M20 device is simple to use and collects volumetrically-controlled DBS samples directly into its sample cartridge. Collection with the device is virtually painless and can be performed nearly anywhere, offering convenience to patients. While developing countries often struggle with supply chain concerns, the Tasso-M20 kit includes all supplies required for collection. Rather than traveling to a distant clinic, patients would be able to self-collect their sample and mail it to a regional laboratory without complex logistics.
Putting Tasso to the Test
In preparation for global deployment, Radich first tested the Tasso-M20 in a clinic-based proof-of-concept study. The results have recently been published in the journal Leukemia, demonstrating patient acceptance of the collection method and strong correlation with venous sampling data. This is the first publication to compare dried capillary blood samples to venous blood for BCR::ABL1 transcript monitoring.
With the methodology now tested and confirmed, Radich and team next plan to expand the Tasso-M20 CML monitoring program into the field, potentially at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center/Uganda Cancer Institute, as well as with rural United States populations.
Looking Ahead
With major logistical advantages and a broad range of analytical possibilities, DBS sampling with Tasso-M20 is expanding horizons for healthcare monitoring. The ongoing work from the Radich Lab is providing researchers with a new blueprint for conducting blood testing anywhere and overcoming access challenges, with potentially life-saving impacts.
Patient access to testing makes a difference. Tasso and innovative research programs like the Radich Lab are moving the future of healthcare forward.