Breakthrough blood tests open new frontiers in cancer detection
The new series of tests -of which there are around 20- are now under development, some of which can be used to find the exact origin of the detected cancer in the body
New developments in cancer detection from a series of cutting-edge blood tests promises a new era in oncology, exciting cancer specialists who can use it to detect developing cancer that would normally go unnoticed until they reach more advanced and less treatable stages.
These cancer tests, known as "liquid biopsies", can potentially impact the identification of more hidden cancers, such as in the pancreas or ovaries, neither of which tend to show early symptoms, says the Washington Times.
Eric Klein, one of the scientists behind the new multi-cancer detection test -known as Galleri- expressed optimism about the breakthrough. "It opens up a whole new world," he said.
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The new series of tests -of which there are around 20- are now under development, some of which can be used to find the exact origin of the detected cancer in the body.
These advances are a culmination of years of progress in various scientific domains. Discoveries in tumour biology, breakthroughs in machine learning, and the newfound ability to detect circulating DNA and other biological substances in the bloodstream have paved the way for the development of these tests.
With every test being unique in its internal workings and objectives, some are designed to identify a single type of cancer. The Shield test from Guardant Health, for instance, is tailored to look for signs of colorectal cancer.
There are also tests like Grail's Galleri and Exact Sciences' Cancerguard (whose precursor was the CancerSeek — developed by the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center) that screen for multiple cancer types simultaneously. And the FirstLook lung cancer test by Delfi differentiates itself by hunting for distinct patterns of DNA fragments correlated with lung cancer.
"There are certain cancers where we know for sure that finding them early will save a lot of lives, and lung cancer is the biggest cancer problem we have today," said Peter Bach, Delfi's chief medical officer, according to MSN.
