For the first time, research led by the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore, United States, has shown the effectiveness of blood tests to detect various types of cancer in a group of patients who did not yet show any symptoms . The goal is to develop an effective technique before the disease shows its face. To date, blood-based multicancer test studies have only been tested in people with a confirmed diagnosis.
Published in the journal Science , the work has evaluated the feasibility and safety of multicancer blood tests – also called liquid biopsies – together with images obtained through positron emission computed tomography (PET-CT). 10,006 women, followed for four years, participated in the research.
The study, called DETECT-A – earlier detection of cancers through blood collection and testing based on elective mutations, for its acronym in English – evaluated the version of an analysis with biomarkers capable of locating mutations associated with the presence of the disease. . The blood test used in DETECT-A is an initial version of a multiple analysis suite called CancerSEEK, which was developed in 2016 by Johns Hopkins University. Specifically, this system examines sixteen genes and nine proteins linked to various types of cancer.
Tumors of all types were included except for cutaneous ones, those that affect the central nervous system and leukemias. These three modalities were ruled out because they have a very low probability of being detected by a test like the one the researchers tried. Likewise, to confirm the existence of the tumor and its location, the scientists used PET / CT imaging techniques. In total, 26 cancers were identified through blood tests , in ten different organs, seven of which – such as the ovaries, uterus, thyroid or kidney – currently do not have standard early detection tests. Those affected were able to benefit from therapeutic treatments before symptoms appeared.
By Sandra Pulido
