NEW YORK, Jan 19:
Scientists have developed a single blood test that can help in the early diagnoses of eight common cancer types and helps identify the location of the disease.
The test, called CancerSEEK, is a unique noninvasive, multianalyte test that simultaneously evaluates levels of eight cancer proteins and the presence of cancer gene mutations from circulating DNA in the blood.
The test is aimed at screening for eight common cancer types that account for more than 60 per cent of cancer deaths in the US, researchers said.
Five of the cancers covered by the test currently have no screening test.
“The use of a combination of selected biomarkers for early detection has the potential to change the way we screen for cancer, and it is based on the same rationale for using combinations of drugs to treat cancers,” said Nickolas Papadopoulos, professor of oncology and pathology at Johns Hopkins University in the US.
According to the study published in the journal Science, CancerSEEK is noninvasive and can, in principle, be administered by primary care providers at the time of other routine blood work.
The investigators initially explored several hundred genes and 40 protein markers, whittling the number down to segments of 16 genes and eight proteins.
They point out that this molecular test is solely aimed at cancer screening and, therefore, is different from other molecular tests, which rely on analysing large numbers of cancer-driving genes to identify therapeutically actionable targets. (PTI)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel