現
代醫學診斷方法要比以前容易，香港科學家在這方
面作出了相當貢獻。現任香港中文大學李嘉誠健康科學研究
所所長的盧煜明講座教授，就是血漿檢測方法的專家。他發
明的簡易無創性測試，只憑檢驗母體血漿(不是血細胞)中胎
兒的DNA，便能準確診斷出多種產前疾病。這方法的準確性
接近100％，並且要比傳統方法更安全。
盧教授先是發現了胎兒的DNA能夠進入母體的血漿
內。在這以前，很多學者都嘗試在母體血細胞內尋找胎兒的
DNA。盧教授認為血漿含有相當多來自胎兒、胎盤、甚或是
癌細胞的DNA。他在母親的血漿內找到男性胎兒的DNA片
段，證明了他的想法。通過分析胎兒的DNA片段，便能判斷
胎兒的性別、血型和潛在的異常狀況。
盧教授認為自己見微知著、舉一反三的能力，是成功的主
要因素。
「我能把某一領域的知識或技術，
應用到另一領域當中。」
當時有論文指出在病人的血漿中找到癌細胞DNA，盧教
授意識到胎兒的DNA也可以存在於母親血漿之中。「我靈機
一觸，想到胎兒在母親子宮內成長，跟腫瘤寄生在病人體內
有相似之處。」
盧教授的發明影響十分深遠，過百萬的孕婦已經接受過
這項檢測，過程中只需以簡單、無創傷性的方法抽取血液。在
科研風氣不盛的香港，這樣的商業成功案例更見難得。儘管
香港沒有深厚的科創文化，盧教授相信這個情況將會慢慢改
變過來，讓科研成果得到普及。在香港科學園和大學的支持
下，盧教授表示﹕
「我們現在所差的只是幾個成功故事，
讓年輕人確信香港可以在科研界
佔一席之地。」
盧教授的團隊正在開拓診斷新領域；其中一個可能是以
血漿檢測方法篩查癌症，偵測沒有症狀的人士是否患癌。癌
症是香港和世界許多地方的頭號殺手，所以這項應用將會幫
助很多病人。此外，血漿內腫瘤DNA量和病人死亡率有密切
關係，提供了更準確的量化方法，監測癌症的嚴重性。若能及
早檢測癌症，將會大大提高病人的存活率。這技術亦能幫助
醫生對症下藥，給與適切的治療。
He believes that his successful career can be
attributed to his ability to read between the lines
and to make connections between seemingly
unrelated matters.
“I have found that I could apply knowledge or
skills obtained from one field and
use them in another”.
Af ter reading paper s that descr ibed the
presence of cancer DNA in the plasma of patients,
he realised that foetal DNA could likewise be
present in maternal plasma. “I thought that a
foetus growing inside the uterus of its mother has
similarities to a tumour growing in a patient”.
The impact of this technology has been far-
reaching. Prof. Lo’s test has been used on more
than a million pregnant women through a simple,
non-intrusive procedure of blood drawing. His
commercial success is far and in between in Hong
Kong’s culture, which is not particularly conducive
to the development of science and technology.
However, Prof. Lo is confident that the local climate
has been improving for technology star t-ups,
allowing for scientific research to reach the larger
masses. With the support of infrastructure such as
Hong Kong Science Park, he concluded:
“What we need now
is a few success stories to show young people
that Hong Kong indeed has
a technology future,”
Prof. Lo and his team are currently working on
the next step in diagnostics. Blood plasma can
potentially be used to screen for cancer in patients
who do not show symptoms. With cancer being the
number one cause of death in many parts of the
world, including Hong Kong, it goes without saying
that this work is paramount. Moreover, the amount
of cancer DNA and the death rate of the patient
are closely correlated, providing a quantitative
and more accurate method to peg the severity of
the cancer. Detecting cancer early significantly
improves the survival rate. The technology also
has the potential to provide more accurate and
appropriate administration of treatment.
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