Anath Maseko Building 1st Floor
+255 673 812 246
Tanzania Breast Cancer Foundation
  • Donate
  • Menu Canvas
    • HOME
    • ABOUT US
    • BREAST CANCER
    • CERVICAL CANCER
    • GET INVOLVED
    • EVENTS
Anath Maseko Building 1st Floor
+255 673 812 246
Tanzania Breast Cancer Foundation
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • Our Story
    • Founder’s Message
    • Governance
    • Partners
    • Our Work
      • Awareness Programmes
      • Empowerment Programmes
      • Support Programmes
    • Contact Us
  • BREAST CANCER
    • About Breast Cancer
    • Early Detection
    • Warning Signs
    • Stages
    • Myths
    • FAQ
  • CERVICAL CANCER
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Donate
    • Collaborate
    • Volunteer
    • Host Cancer Awareness Workshop
    • Host Cancer Screening Workshop
  • EVENTS
    • Upcoming Events
      • TBCF Virtual #PinkTober Walk 24-25 October
    • Media Coverage
    • Newsletter
  • DONATE
  • DONATE

Blood Test Detects Cancer Early, But Has Some Holdups

Homepage Breast Cancer Blood Test Detects Cancer Early, But Has Some Holdups
Breast Cancer, News

Blood Test Detects Cancer Early, But Has Some Holdups

July 3, 2017
By admin
0 Comment
621 Views

A blood test has detected cancer in individuals who had no history or symptoms of cancer. A trial of the test, which is still experimental, shows that it is possible to identify signs of cancer early on, long before people show symptoms of being sick. But the study also identified some people as having cancer when, in fact, there were no tumors at all, and it missed some cases of cancer, researchers reported yesterday (April 28) in Science and at a virtual session of the American Association for Cancer Research meeting.

“This [test] is not at the place where it could be used today,” Len Lichtenfeld, the deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, tells the Associated Press. “It will need many more studies to demonstrate value,” including whether it improves survival, he adds.

The test, which analyzes blood for DNA released by tumor cells as well as for known protein biomarkers of specific cancers, accurately detected undiagnosed cancers in 26 women of the nearly 10,000 women aged 65 to 75 who participated in the study. They were diagnosed with a range of cancers, from breast, uterine, ovary, and kidney tumors to lymphoma. There were 24 women who had tumors that weren’t detected by the test; their breast, lung, and colon cancers were identified by other screening methods. Another 46 women had cancer that was eventually identified when they developed symptoms or by imaging unrelated to cancer screening, but not by the test. In addition, 101 women had a positive blood test, but no cancer was identified during follow-up imaging.

Even with the false positives and missed cases, breast cancer researcher Daniel Hayes of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor tells Science he is impressed with the work. The team “did all the right things,” says Hayes, who was not involved in the project. Yet, he agrees with Lichtenfeld that the test is not ready to be marketed and sold to clinicians.

There’s more work to be done to improve the test, but the results show it is “additive and complementary” to standard screening, study coauthor Nickolas Papadopoulos of Johns Hopkins University, where the liquid biopsy was developed, tells Science.

A startup called Thrive plans to continue to develop the test for clinical use. But there are uncertainties about how much pre-clinical testing of the test itself will be needed before physicians and oncologists could start using it to search for early signs of cancer, according to Science. Will spotting undetectable cancers be enough or will the test have to show it saves lives? “That is what everybody in the field is grappling with now,” Papadopoulos says.


Previous Story
Major trial uses blood test to match women with breast cancer to range of precision treatments
Next Story
How advanced is breast cancer in Africa?

Related Articles

How advanced is breast cancer in Africa?

Breast cancer is a growing problem in low-resource settings. According...

Major trial uses blood test to match women with breast cancer to range of precision treatments

A blood test that can identify a variety of mutations...

Recent Post

  • How advanced is breast cancer in Africa? Monday, 3, Jul
  • Blood Test Detects Cancer Early, But Has Some Holdups Monday, 3, Jul
  • Major trial uses blood test to match women with breast cancer to range of precision treatments Monday, 3, Jul
  • No Woman Should Face Breast Cancer Alone Monday, 3, Jul
  • Angela Kuzilwa- Breast Cancer Survivor And Founder Of The Tanzania Breast Cancer Foundation Thursday, 8, Jun

Recent Comments

    Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org

    Tags

    Charity Education Enviroment
    Alone

    Get In Touch

    info@breastcancertz.org
    +255 673 812 246 / +255 765 382 321
    Anath Maseko Building 1st Floor,
    Ali Bin Said Road, Namanga – Msasani,
    Dar es Salaam.

    Sign Up Newsletter

    Follow Us:
    Tanzania Breast Cancer Foundation - Copyright 2020. Design by JACoL Media
    SearchPostsLogin
    Monday, 3, Jul
    How advanced is breast cancer in Africa?
    Monday, 3, Jul
    Blood Test Detects Cancer Early, But Has Some Holdups
    Monday, 3, Jul
    Major trial uses blood test to match women with breast cancer to range of precision treatments
    Monday, 3, Jul
    No Woman Should Face Breast Cancer Alone
    Thursday, 8, Jun
    Angela Kuzilwa- Breast Cancer Survivor And Founder Of The Tanzania Breast Cancer Foundation

    Welcome back,