New Test Screens for Over 50 Types of Cancer

How great would it be if you could go to your doctor, order one blood test and rule out over 50 different types of cancer? We could be close to seeing this kind of incredible breakthrough become a reality. Researchers have discovered a blood test that can screen for over 50 types of cancer, including several that are currently difficult to catch early on. Traditionally, tests have been limited; soon, we may see a whole new way of diagnosing and monitoring cancer.

Current Limitations in Cancer Screening

Modern medicine has provided numerous ways for doctors to look for cancer, from imaging to blood tests — but most are limited to looking for one specific cancer at a time. Currently, cancer diagnostics come in four major divisions:

• Imaging can detect certain types of cancer in a handful of areas, including the breast, thyroid, and some internal organs.
• Minimally invasive procedures like endoscopies, Pap tests and other biopsies can test for cancers in the gastrointestinal tract, cervix and several other areas in the body.
• Genetic testing can help predict which cancers to watch out for, and even flag mutations found in a handful of tumors, but options in this field are currently limited and many insurance carriers deny claims for these tests.
• Blood and other lab tests can sometimes pinpoint abnormal cells that may indicate cancer or precancerous conditions.

Early detection is a vital first step in getting effective treatment in most cases, but many of these tests might not be available (due to insurance restrictions or test limitations) until after cancer is suspected. Because current diagnostics often aren’t preemptive or broad enough, a good number of cases might go undetected until it’s too late — and that's a huge problem.

New Blood Test Could Transform Cancer Diagnostics

The face of cancer diagnostics could soon change with the discovery of a blood test that seems to detect the presence of over 50 different types of cancer. In a study recently released in Annals of Oncology, researchers shared that they might be able to detect many cases current diagnostics would miss. These include types of cancer that may not always see early-stage detections, such as pancreatic, bladder and head/neck cancers.

The test looks for specific DNA markers that can indicate certain cancer cell mutations. The test is capable of detecting the origins of most tumors, but it’s not foolproof. It may not be able to differentiate a small subset of cancers, like those caused by HPV, for example, which can include cancers of the cervix, anus and head/neck.

For as broad as this test is, it seems to also be impressively accurate in many cases. For example, researchers claim it can detect first-stage pancreatic cancer, which currently has no early detection tools, with 63% accuracy. And it can detect second-stage disease with 83% accuracy. The test has varying sensitivities depending on the cancer type and the stage of the disease — so we probably can't rely on it exclusively, but in cases where there aren’t currently any other early screening tools, this one blood test could save lives.

A new era in cancer diagnostics would be a great thing to see. We may live in a future where early detection and treatment are the norms. Hopefully, this is just the beginning, opening the door for other researchers to find even bigger and better breakthroughs. It will be exciting to see what happens next.

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