New blood test can detect cancer 3 years before you start showing symptoms
Want to B-positive about your health?
Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a cutting-edge blood test that can detect signs of cancer three years before any symptoms surface.
The breakthrough could help doctors diagnose cancer long before today's screening tools allow, giving patients a better shot at beating the disease.
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3 Blood-based screening could one day compliment existing screening methods.
Vadim – stock.adobe.com
'Three years earlier provides time for intervention,' Dr. Yuxuan Wang, an assistant professor of oncology and lead researcher of the study, said in a statement.
'The tumors are likely to be much less advanced and more likely to be curable,' she added.
For the study, Wang and her colleagues analyzed blood samples from 52 people involved in a large National Institutes of Health-funded research project on cardiovascular health.
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Half were later diagnosed with cancer within six months of giving blood. The rest stayed cancer-free.
The researchers ran the samples through a multicancer early detection (MCED) test, which uses ultra-sensitive sequencing to hunt for tiny shards of mutated DNA that tumors leak into the bloodstream.
It detected signs of cancer in 8 of the 26 future patients.
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3 Cancerous tumors shed genetic material into the bloodstream.
Sebastian Kaulitzki – stock.adobe.com
But here's the kicker: Six of those patients had older blood samples on file — and in four of them, early signs of cancer were already lurking more than three years before their diagnosis.
'This study shows the promise of MCED tests in detecting cancers very early, and sets the benchmark sensitivities required for their success,' said senior author Dr. Bert Vogelstein, a professor of oncology and co-director of the Ludwig Center at Johns Hopkins.
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Right now, no MCED tests are fully approved by the FDA for widespread use, though some are commercially available under looser rules as Laboratory Developed Tests.
While MCED tests aren't intended to replace standard screenings, experts say they could play an important role in spotting cancers earlier — especially those, like colon cancer, that are often diagnosed at advanced stages.
3 Several companies are developing MCED blood tests.
Alexander Raths – stock.adobe.com
'Detecting cancers years before their clinical diagnosis could help provide management with a more favourable outcome,' said Nickolas Papadopoulos, a professor of oncology and senior author of the study.
'Of course, we need to determine the appropriate clinical follow-up after a positive test for such cancers,' he added.
Among the eight participants whose cancers the MCED test detected months before diagnosis, five died from the disease — underscoring how deadly cancer can be when caught too late.
For example, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 99% when detected early, but drops to less than 32% once the disease has spread, according to the American Cancer Society.
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Excluding non-melanoma skin cancers, the group estimates more than 2 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in the US in 2025 — with over 618,000 people expected to die from the disease.
That breaks down to roughly 1,700 deaths every single day.
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Fox News
an hour ago
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Cancer could be detected three years before diagnosis with experimental blood test
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say they have uncovered an advanced method for detecting cancer. A new study, published in the journal Cancer Discovery and partly funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that genetic material shed by tumors can be detected in the bloodstream three years prior to a cancer diagnosis. The researchers analyzed plasma samples from a large Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study to assess risk factors for heart attack, stroke, heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases, according to a press release. Blood samples were analyzed from 26 participants who were diagnosed with cancer within six months of sample collection, and 26 who were not diagnosed with cancer. Out of these 52 participants, eight scored positively on a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) lab test and were diagnosed with cancer within four months following blood collection. MCED tests are an experimental type of cancer screening that looks for signs of multiple types of cancer at the same time, according to the American Cancer Society. These signs may include pieces of DNA, RNA or proteins from abnormal cells. For six of these eight individuals, researchers were able to assess additional blood samples that were collected 3.1 to 3.5 years prior to diagnosis. In four samples, researchers identified tumor-derived mutations (genetic alterations within cancer cells). Lead study author Yuxuan Wang, MD, PhD, assistant professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, shared in a statement that investigators were surprised by the outcomes. "Three years earlier provides time for intervention," she said. "The tumors are likely to be much less advanced and more likely to be curable." For more Health articles, visit Senior study author Bert Vogelstein, MD, Clayton Professor of Oncology and co-director of the Ludwig Center at Johns Hopkins, said the study shows "the promise of MCED tests in detecting cancers very early, and sets the benchmark sensitivities required for their success." Detecting cancer years before a clinical diagnosis could help "provide management with a more favorable outcome," noted senior author Nickolas Papadopoulos, PhD, professor of oncology and Ludwig Center investigator. "Of course, we need to determine the appropriate clinical follow-up after a positive test for such cancers," he added. Fox News Digital reached out to Johns Hopkins for comment.
New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
New blood test can detect cancer 3 years before you start showing symptoms
Want to B-positive about your health? Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a cutting-edge blood test that can detect signs of cancer three years before any symptoms surface. The breakthrough could help doctors diagnose cancer long before today's screening tools allow, giving patients a better shot at beating the disease. Advertisement 3 Blood-based screening could one day compliment existing screening methods. Vadim – 'Three years earlier provides time for intervention,' Dr. Yuxuan Wang, an assistant professor of oncology and lead researcher of the study, said in a statement. 'The tumors are likely to be much less advanced and more likely to be curable,' she added. For the study, Wang and her colleagues analyzed blood samples from 52 people involved in a large National Institutes of Health-funded research project on cardiovascular health. Advertisement Half were later diagnosed with cancer within six months of giving blood. The rest stayed cancer-free. The researchers ran the samples through a multicancer early detection (MCED) test, which uses ultra-sensitive sequencing to hunt for tiny shards of mutated DNA that tumors leak into the bloodstream. It detected signs of cancer in 8 of the 26 future patients. Advertisement 3 Cancerous tumors shed genetic material into the bloodstream. Sebastian Kaulitzki – But here's the kicker: Six of those patients had older blood samples on file — and in four of them, early signs of cancer were already lurking more than three years before their diagnosis. 'This study shows the promise of MCED tests in detecting cancers very early, and sets the benchmark sensitivities required for their success,' said senior author Dr. Bert Vogelstein, a professor of oncology and co-director of the Ludwig Center at Johns Hopkins. Advertisement Right now, no MCED tests are fully approved by the FDA for widespread use, though some are commercially available under looser rules as Laboratory Developed Tests. While MCED tests aren't intended to replace standard screenings, experts say they could play an important role in spotting cancers earlier — especially those, like colon cancer, that are often diagnosed at advanced stages. 3 Several companies are developing MCED blood tests. Alexander Raths – 'Detecting cancers years before their clinical diagnosis could help provide management with a more favourable outcome,' said Nickolas Papadopoulos, a professor of oncology and senior author of the study. 'Of course, we need to determine the appropriate clinical follow-up after a positive test for such cancers,' he added. Among the eight participants whose cancers the MCED test detected months before diagnosis, five died from the disease — underscoring how deadly cancer can be when caught too late. For example, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 99% when detected early, but drops to less than 32% once the disease has spread, according to the American Cancer Society. Advertisement Excluding non-melanoma skin cancers, the group estimates more than 2 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in the US in 2025 — with over 618,000 people expected to die from the disease. That breaks down to roughly 1,700 deaths every single day.
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