A new study offers hope that one day, doctors may be able to detect and track cancer using a simple blood test.
This research, led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and the New York Genome Center, was published in Nature Methods on April 11. It brings us closer to a future where blood tests can help find cancer early or keep an eye on it after treatment.
The scientists developed a better way to scan a person’s entire DNA to find very tiny traces of cancer. These traces are called circulating tumor DNA, or ctDNA. This is DNA that comes from cancer cells and floats in the bloodstream. Finding and tracking ctDNA can show how much cancer is in the body and how it is responding to treatment.
In the past, this type of DNA scanning was too expensive to use regularly. But now, the team used a new, low-cost DNA reading system made by Ultima Genomics. This system lets doctors look more closely and deeply at a person’s full DNA for a lower price. The deeper the scan, the easier it is to find small amounts of ctDNA.
What makes this method special is an extra step the team added to reduce errors. DNA has two strands that match each other. The scientists compared both strands to find mistakes in the data and remove them. This made the test much more accurate and trustworthy.
In the study, the researchers tested blood samples from people with bladder cancer and melanoma. They were able to find ctDNA in the blood. They also saw that ctDNA levels changed based on how the cancer was doing.
If the cancer got worse, ctDNA levels went up. If the treatment worked, the levels went down. This shows that the blood test could do more than just detect cancer—it could also help track its progress.
Dr. Dan Landau, the senior author and a cancer doctor at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, said this is a big step forward. He explained that with cheaper tools and better methods, blood tests to monitor cancer might become part of regular medical care in the future.
Another researcher, Dr. Bishoy Faltas, said the test worked even better when they included the unique DNA patterns from each person’s cancer. This made it more sensitive and accurate.
With more studies and testing in real patients, this breakthrough could lead to blood tests that help find cancer early, watch for its return, and guide treatments. This would mean fewer painful or risky procedures for patients and better ways to manage cancer in everyday life.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that artificial sweeteners are linked to higher cancer risk, and how drinking milk affects risks of heart disease and cancer.
For more health information, please see recent studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and results showing vitamin D supplements strongly reduces cancer death.
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