Several new blood tests to detect cancer are being developed overseas. One new blood test can detect, classify and pinpoint the location of cancer by analyzing a sample equivalent to one drop of blood. Using this new method for blood-based RNA tests of blood platelets, researchers have been able to identify cancer with 96 percent accuracy according to a study at Umeå University in Sweden.
Being able to detect cancer at an early stage is vital. The Swedish university has studied how a whole new blood-based method can be used to detect cancer, which eliminates an invasive cell tissue biopsy. In the study, nearly all forms of cancer were identified, which proves that blood-based biopsies have an immense potential to improve early detection of cancer.
In follow-up tests using the same method, researchers could identify the origin of tumors with unsurpassed accuracy of 71 percent in patients with diagnosed cancer in the lung, breast, pancreas, brain, liver, colon and rectum.
Another blood test being developed at the University of Bradford in England has shown to accurately detect melanoma, lung cancer, and colon cancer. The test measures damage to DNA in white blood cells using varying intensities of ultraviolet light. Called Lymphocyte Genome Sensitivity (LGS) test, the analysis hones in on the DNA of white blood cells. By measuring the damage caused to the DNA of white blood cells, researchers can differentiate between the white blood cells of patients with cancer or pre-cancerous conditions and the white blood cells of healthy patients.
More studies are being conducted to gain industry approval. This is another example of how new technology research can help detect diseases faster and be less invasive.
~ Bob Larson is a technologist, photo journalist, and Marketing Director for 50Plus Media Solutions.