A new blood-based test developed by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center offers the potential to significantly improve predictions of mortality risk from lung cancer.
The test’s capabilities, when combined with a personalized risk model, outperform the current U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) criteria in identifying those at high risk of lung cancer death.
The study findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The New Approach
The blood test, referred to as a four-protein panel (4MP), in combination with a lung cancer risk model (PLCOm2012), advances upon previous research that showed this test more accurately determined who is likely to benefit from lung cancer screening compared to the USPSTF criteria.
The co-corresponding author of the study, Samir Hanash, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Clinical Cancer Prevention, emphasized the potential impact of the test.
“This simple blood test has the potential to save lives by determining the need for lung cancer screening on a personalized basis,” he said.
The Study
The study included an analysis of pre-diagnostic blood samples from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial.
Among 552 individuals who were later diagnosed with lung cancer, 70% (387) died from the disease during the six-year study period.
The combined risk model demonstrated better sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value in predicting lung cancer-specific mortality among individuals with a smoking history of at least 10 pack-years (PYs), compared to both the 2013 and 2021 USPSTF criteria.
Future Implementation
While the blood test could be applied as a lab-developed test in the near future, approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would likely necessitate a prospective clinical trial.
Co-corresponding author Edwin Ostrin, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of General Internal Medicine, sees potential for the test to be deployed worldwide as a tool for early detection of lung cancer.
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The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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