Australian researchers revealed on Tuesday that a new scanning technique could speed up the diagnosis of cancer treatment.

The technique could revolutionize the way cancers are fought, with a Melbourne-based trial showing it could deliver vital information about a tumor's growth rate in just weeks.

"Before this study, we haven't been able to tell whether their tumor might be responding to the treatment till months down the track," explained radiation therapist Sarah Everitt of the Peter McCallum Cancer Center.

"Now we can now see if the treatment is working, and we might be able to do something about it if it's not."

Everitt led investigators for the study, which used a combination of hi-tech scanners with a new type of "tracer" not used during cancer treatment before.

The radioactive tracer called FLT was injected into the patients where it temporarily binds to cells that are rapidly dividing, to highlight them during a scan.

Five lung cancer patients took part in the initial study, during which scans were conducted over more than a year, and the promising results will see a broader follow-up study involving 20 patients. "We were very surprised at the images that were shown ... ranging from a very quick response to other patients whose tumors didn't respond to treatment as we'd hoped," Everitt said.

The technique could soon allow doctors to develop tailored treatments for each patient - ramping up treatments shown to work or changing course - to improve the prognosis of people who suffer from cancer.

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2009)