Chip that could detect cancer

www.switched.com...

"The device is called the CTC-chip. While similar technology has existed for some time, earlier microchip-based systems were only used with samples of blood from finger picks, useful for problems other than cancer (think: diabetics use for testing blood glucose with a glucometer)."

Found this little article on aol. It seems like humanity is closer to finding a cure for cancer. This is great if this is true! yaay!

Anytime you can do a blood test to confirm or diagnose a patient is awesome. When you can do it via a fingerstick, even better!
But not to rain on anyones parade, this test looks for circulating tumor cells. That is bad....if you have a CTC you are in bad shape. Think of it as a seed. If the seed implants, it will grow. So, when we talk about CTC in cancer - you are talking about metastasis (stage III-IV depending on where, type, originating cell line). Here is a link to show how testing for CTC's in patients with Prostate Cancer can have a direct affect on treatment of the disease. Good stuff.
www.sciencedaily.com...