Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2013 - (Page 10)
TheWar on
Cancer
Making it Personal
by Alexandra Wong
I
used to think that the “battle against cancer” was just a cliché. I didn’t know much
about cancer; it was just a bad thing to have. Then, in 2010, when I was in eighth
grade, my grandmother was diagnosed with gastric cancer. She underwent surgery
to remove her stomach. Afterward, she was given the choice of receiving radiation
and chemotherapy—the current standard of treatment for gastric cancer patients—or
doing nothing. When she looked at the data, my grandmother found that chemotherapy,
with all its inherent side effects, wasn’t likely to buy her more than a few years at best.
THINKSTOCK
My grandmother decided against further treatment, and more than three years later, is fortunate
to be alive and well. But while her battle appears to
have been won, there’s always a nagging fear that the
cancer could return. Unfortunately, there are no reliable tests to know if or when this happens. The only
tests available had come back negative—even before
her surgery. That is what compelled me to research a
non-invasive means of detecting gastric cancer cells
in the body.
Biomarkers might be basic molecules, DNA, or
proteins that correlate with cancer characteristics
such as how far cancer has spread or how aggressive
it is. I found a couple of peer-reviewed articles on
biomarkers that had been shown to be related to
gastric cancer. Once I learned specifically what they
were correlated with and what they could be useful for, I could investigate individual biomarkers to
identify those that would, hopefully, fulfill my goal.
Strategic Planning
Understanding the Enemy
I began by reading the scientific literature. Initially,
progress was slow: As I read, my mom used an
online dictionary to translate every other esoteric word. But once I understood terms such as
metastasis (the spread of cancer to an area beyond
the organ in which it originated), the literature
became easier to understand. When I read about
biomarkers—distinct biochemical, genetic, or
molecular characteristics or substances that can
indicate the presence of disease—I decided to
investigate using specific biomarkers to detect
gastric cancer in the blood.
10 imagine
From an email community for homeschooled
students, I located the Schmahl Advanced Science
Research Program, through which students can
pursue biological research. After submitting a
project proposal, budget, and research plan, I was
accepted into the program. I began working with a
mentor and by the spring of 2011 had developed an
experimental design.
I would use an ELISA (Enzyme-Linked
Immunosorbent Assay), a test that uses an enzyme
linked to an antibody as a marker to detect a specific
substance such as a protein. ELISAs have been used
to detect hepatitis B, TB, and HIV antibodies, among
Sept/Oct 2013
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2013
Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2013
Contents
Bridging the Gap
The War on Cancer
Teen Researchers on the Forefront of Medicine
Ancient Medicine Meets Modern Technology
Innovations in Medicine
Wherever Help Is Needed
Summer in the Lab
Our Second Genome
The Defi nition of Determination
Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2013
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