A team of researchers at Montreal’s McGill University has developed an app, that can not only change how kids with cancer are treated, but can also help detect new cases sooner, CTV News is reporting.
The Canadian-made screening tool can help show which pediatric cancer patients have an underlying genetic condition that predisposed them and may predispose their family members to the disease.
According to a new study in the JAMA Oncology medical journal, the app works accurately and has been proven to be the first one of its kind. Using the app, doctors can do a better job treating their child patients while also helping their families prevent future cancers.
The question of underlying genetic conditions is an important one, said McGill, since about one in 10 pediatric cancer patients have this kind of predisposition, known as a CPS (cancer predisposition syndrome).
“Diagnosing a child or youth with a CPS is important to adjust the patient’s current cancer treatment, offer screening to family members and consequently, provide cancer surveillance services to detect new cancers faster,” said the release.
The free app is available in French and English and works with all types of cancers that can affect children and teens.
