Would you want a blood test to spot treatment resistance before a scan?

Hi everyone 💗

Imagine having a routine blood test and being told that your breast cancer treatment may be starting to lose effectiveness, even though your latest scan has not shown progression.

Researchers are increasingly studying ctDNA or liquid biopsy tests, which look for tiny fragments of tumour DNA circulating in the blood.

In some people with advanced hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, these tests can detect changes such as an ESR1 mutation, which may suggest resistance to certain hormone treatments.

The hope is that identifying these changes earlier could eventually help doctors make treatment decisions before progression becomes visible on a scan.

But there is another side to it.

Would having that information earlier help you feel prepared, or would knowing about a change before you had any symptoms create more worry?

💬 We’d love to hear your thoughts:

• Would you want to know if your treatment was becoming less effective before a scan showed progression?
• Have you ever been offered a liquid biopsy or ctDNA blood test?
• Would earlier information make you feel more reassured or more anxious?
• Do you feel your breast cancer team keeps you informed about newer tests and treatment options?

If this kind of monitoring became more widely available, would you want it included in your regular breast cancer follow-up?

With care,
Razar from the Carenity team💖