Scientists are developing a new test to detect cancer in its early stages
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A new method of diagnosing cancer through a blood test may help speed up treatment for patients. In the future, scientists hope to detect more than 50 types of cancer in the early stages. This is stated in a new study by a team of British and American scientists, the BBC writes. Results from a liquid biopsy trial by the National Health Service (NHS) in Great Britain suggest that a blood test called Galleri can detect cancer in people with symptoms. The test detects tiny tumor fragments in the blood. Galleri is looking for signs of chemical changes that travel from the tumor into the blood, in the DNA. Photo: AlexLipa/Depositphotos Read also: A disease that can start with a mole. What is melanoma and how is it treated Experts say more research will be needed before the test can be implemented in health care systems. Currently, as scientists from the University of Oxford have noted, a patient who has consulted a doctor about rapid weight loss must undergo a comprehensive examination and pass a number of tests to determine the causes of his condition. Therefore, researchers hope that soon with the help of Galleri it will be possible to exclude the most dangerous cause much faster. The Symplify study, led by the University of Oxford, involved 5,461 people from the United Kingdom. The scientists presented the results at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. “Early detection of cancer is vital and this test could help us catch more cancers at an earlier stage and help save thousands of lives,” NHS head of oncology Professor Peter Johnson told the BBC. The test correctly detected two-thirds of cancer cases among study participants. In 85% of these positive cases, he was also able to pinpoint its location in the body. According to the results of the study, the test was more accurate in elderly patients and patients with later stages of cancer. Photo: angellodeco/Depositphotos While a negative test result is currently not a 100% guarantee that cancer is not present in the body, 2.5% of trial participants with symptoms whose tests did not detect cancer were later found to have cancer through scans and biopsies. Eliminating this inaccuracy is considered a priority by the developers in their work on Galleri. Research is being conducted by a group of American scientists from the Dana-Farber Oncology Institute and Harvard Medical School in collaboration with the British from the Francis Crick Institute and University College London. The project is funded by Grail, a Silicon Valley startup whose investors include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Read also: All about early diagnosis of cancer: symptoms and tests
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