Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have discovered that cancer can be detected in the bloodstream three years before doctors diagnose it. A study published in the journal Cancer Discovery found that genetic material from cancer tumors can appear in the blood earlier than thought, paving the way for new cancer screening methods.
The detection is possible due to advanced genetic sequencing techniques, which analyzed 26 blood samples of participants who had been diagnosed with cancer within six months and compared them to 26 other samples without cancer. The researchers found that their “multicancer early detection” (MCED) lab test correctly identified eight cases showing early signs of cancer.
While the discovery is promising, questions remain about how effective these tests will be in practice. The team faces challenges in determining the best intervention for patients with early warning signs, as current treatment regimens are built around detecting cancer later on.
The study highlights the need to characterize screening interventions and prove their benefits before rolling them out. Experts emphasize that more research is needed to determine which types of cancer can be reliably detected by MCEDs and how effective these tests will be in reducing cancer fatalities.
According to lead author Yuxuan Wang, early detection provides time for intervention, as tumors are likely to be less advanced and more curable at this stage. The team’s findings offer hope for developing new cancer screening methods that could potentially prevent the disease from becoming more serious.
Source: https://futurism.com/neoscope/doctors-detect-cancer-blood-years-diagnosis