A study by French researchers from Inserm published on October 31 in the journal PlosOne revealed that it was possible to detect lung cancer using a blood test even before it was visible by medical imaging. This scientific discovery importance seems to be supported by the results of a meta-analysis carried out by researchers at the University of Warwick.
Indeed, Ian Cree, professor of pathology at the British University of Warwick carried out a meta-analysis of 19,000 scientific studies on blood markers of cancers to understand whether a blood test would be able to identify a large number of cancers. Scientists analyzed 800 cancer biomarkers in the blood of patients.
“We believe we have identified all relevant biomarkers. The next step is to work on those that work best to identify cancers in order to eventually develop a unique test that would allow cancer to be diagnosed much earlier and thus save many more patients. Our goal is that in 20 years, 3 out of 4 cancer patients will be able to survive at least 10 years after their diagnosis, ”explains Professor Cree, cited by the PourquoiDocteur information site.
Research on cancer screening is increasing
This type of research is developing in the United States. Indeed, researchers at Stanford School of Medicine have developed a blood test capable of detecting several forms of cancer. This screening tool, called CAPP-Seq (personalized cancer profiling by deep sequencing) is able to assess the “quantity of cancer in the body” in the blood, as well as to analyze the latter’s response to anti-cancer treatments. . And in Japan, where scientists from the Japan New Energy and Industrial Technologies Organization (Nedo) have developed a blood test which would make it possible to detect 13 cancers.
Cancer was the cause of 8.2 million deaths in 2012. Cancers of the lung, stomach, liver, colon and breast are the most fatal, according to figures from the World Health Organization. health (WHO).