Researchers at Stanford University found that a simple blood test accurately detects if a patient will response to heart transplant or not. The test is non-invasive and provides faster results than a biopsy, researchers say.
The 'cell-free DNA test' monitors the levels of the donor's DNA in the blood of the patient receiving the heart transplant. Researchers explain that after the levels are detected, doctors can treat patients with anti-rejection medications if needed.
At present, there is another blood test used to detect rejection. It is known as 'AlloMap' and works by analyzing the patient's blood for the expression of genes linked to rejection. The researchers said that the cell-free DNA test was more effective than AlloMap.
The study was conducted on 65 children and adult patients with a total of 565 samples. The researchers examined the statuses of the participating patients before and after their transplants. The research team compared the results of using the cell-free DNA test to biopsies.
The findings reveal that the cell-free DNA test was effective in detecting two main types of rejection in 24 of the patients. Moreover, it also identified signs of rejection up to five months before the biopsies yielded any troubling results.
"This test appears to be safer, cheaper and more accurate than a heart biopsy, which is the current gold standard to detect and monitor heart-transplant rejection," said Stephen Quake, PhD, professor of bioengineering and of applied physics. "We believe it's likely to be very useful in the clinic," he said in apress release
Kiran Khush, senior author of the study and MD, assistant professor of medicine, said that early detection of heart transplant rejection may prevent irreversible damage to the transplanted organ.
"It may also allow us to conduct several diagnostic tests simultaneously. For example, we could also look for microbial sequences in the blood sample to rule out infection or other complications sometimes experienced by transplant recipients. It could allow us to determine whether shortness of breath experienced by a patient is due to an infection or the start of a rejection episode. It could be a one-stop shop for multiple potential problems," Khush said
The study was published in Science Translational Medicine.
