Tests for the early detection of many types of cancer offer a revolutionary approach to screening for several forms of cancer simultaneously, through a single blood sample.
A new liquid biopsy test enables earlier diagnosis of many types of cancer, according to a study published in the journal CancerCurrently, routine screening is limited to only a few types of cancer.
New research shows that routine liquid biopsy testing, a test for the early detection of many cancers, could significantly reduce the number of advanced-stage diagnoses, giving patients the opportunity to start treatment earlier, when the cancer is more likely to respond to therapy.
Liquid biopsy test detects several types of cancer from a blood sample
Currently, routine screening is recommended for only four types of cancer, while about 70% of new cases are only detected after symptoms appear, usually at advanced stages, when survival rates are lower. Tests for the early detection of multiple cancers represent a revolutionary new way to screen for many types of cancer simultaneously, through a single blood sample.
To assess the impact of such a test, called Cancerguard, the researchers used epidemiological data from the surveillance, epidemiology and outcome database, and developed a simulation model for 14 types of cancer that account for almost 80% of cancer incidence and mortality cases, reports the Telegraph.
New test could improve survival
Researchers simulated the 10-year course of the disease in 5 million US adults, aged 50–84, assessing the effects of including annual screening for many cancers in standard care.
The model showed that over a decade, this additional test could lead to an increase of 10% in stage I diagnoses, 20% in phase II, 30% in phase III and 45% at stage IV, compared with standard care. The largest absolute declines in stage IV diagnoses were observed in lung, colorectal, and pancreatic cancer, while the largest relative declines were observed in cervical, liver, and colorectal cancer.
“Our analysis shows that blood tests for many types of cancer could represent a turning point in disease control,” explains Dr. Jagpreet Chhatwal, lead author of the study and director of the Institute for Technology Assessment at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
"Bringing diagnosis to earlier stages, before the cancer has spread, can improve survival and reduce the personal and economic burden of this disease," he concludes. /Telegraph/
