Blood tests could now help catch cancer earlier, Oxford University study shows

The test is currently used in MS patients but could be helpful to detect cancer early
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A new blood test could detect cancer and its spread with a 95 per cent success rate, researchers say.

The University of Oxford study, published in the Clinical Cancer Research journal, showed that the test, if approved, could identify the disease in patients with nonspecific symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue.

This would increase the chances of response to treatment by early access and reduce the time between noticing early symptoms and a clear diagnosis.

Lead paper author and oncologist Dr James Larkin said: “We have already demonstrated that this technology can successfully identify if patients with multiple sclerosis are progressing to the later stages of disease, even before trained clinicians could tell.

“It is very exciting that the same technology is now showing promise in other diseases, like cancer.”

Results found that, of the 300 tested, blood work revealed cancer in 19 out of 20 of those with cancerous tumours – a 95 per cent accuracy rate.

The test was further able to detect metastatic cancer with 94 per cent accuracy without knowing the type of primary cancer they were looking for.

Currently, there is a “two-week wait path” for cancer referrals regarding organ-specific symptoms in patients but no clear route for those with nonspecific symptoms.

NHS rapid diagnostic centres are being set up around the UK to help speed up cancer diagnoses, much like the SCAN pathway in Oxfordshire, while this test could cut wait time by weeks.

Once trialled in larger groups and regulated by relevant authorities this test could be released to the public within two years as “an immediate referral option”, Dr Larkin added. “The moment you can say ‘you have a cancer’, it provides a strong incentive to send that patient for an imaging investigation to see if you can find that cancer.”

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