Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body.
These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread.
In a study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, scientists found a single blood test that can screen for more than 50 cancers early.
Researchers found that of over 6,600 apparently healthy people aged 50 and older, the blood test detected possible cancer “signal” in roughly 1%. When those individuals had more extensive testing, cancer was confirmed in 38%.
The finding shows how the so-called multi-cancer early detection test could fit into real-world care.
In the study, researchers from multiple medical institutions across the United States examined the Galleri blood test.
The Galleri test is made by GRAIL, a California biotech company that is funding the Pathfinder study.
The Galleri test can screen for over 50 tumor types, including many that currently lack any routine screening test, such as pancreatic, liver, and ovarian cancers.
The researchers tested more than 6,600 adults aged 50 and up with no known cancer. Just over 1% tested positive on the Galleri test, and 38% of them were eventually diagnosed with cancer.
The team says it is important to study not only how well multi-cancer early detection tests perform, but what happens when they are part of real-world care.
It will take much more research to show whether cancers detected by these blood tests are less likely to be lethal.
The blood tests can also predict where in the body the potential threat is located, so doctors can decide which follow-up tests—such as imaging, endoscopies or biopsies—should be used.
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 information about nutrition, please see recent studies about the vaccine to prevent pancreatic cancer, and results showing vitamin D supplements strongly reduces cancer death.
The study was conducted by Catherine Marinac et al.
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