Scientists have moved one step further to one of the most important goals at the moment – a universal blood test that could show the presence of all types of cancer. A team from the Johns Hopkins University has tested a test that can detect eight common forms of this disease.
The goal of specialists is to create a diagnostic method that could be introduced into clinical practice and conducted annually in order to find signs of pathology in the early stages.
Tumors release small particles of DNA, as well as proteins, which then enter the bloodstream. The Cancer Seek test (for the time being) searches the blood for traces of 16 genetic mutations and eight proteins that occur most often.
It was tested on 1005 patients with ovarian, liver, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, large intestine, lung and breast cancer.
Tumors in these patients have not yet spread to other tissues. In 70% of cases the test showed the correct result. Now it is checked on people who have not been diagnosed with cancer.
This will reveal whether the test is really useful, and whether or not it is worthwhile to pin hopes on it.
If the method passes the test successfully – it will be able to replace any other studies (colonoscopy, mammogram and so on).
In addition, early diagnosis can significantly increase survival – especially this is important, for example, in pancreatic cancer, which often manifests itself too late and in which four patients out of five die within a year of detection
The cost of Cancer Seek is about 500 dollars.
