January 19, 2018 – Single Blood Test Screens for Eight Cancer Types

John Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers developed a single blood test that can detect for eight common cancer types through assessment of the circulating proteins and mutations in cell-free DNA. The test, called CancerSEEK, is a unique noninvasive, multianalyte test that simultaneously evaluates levels of eight cancer proteins and the presence of cancer gene mutations from circulating DNA in the blood. The test was evaluated on 1,005 patients with nonmetastatic, stages I to III cancers of the ovary, liver, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, colorectum, lung or breast. For the five cancers that have no screening tests—ovarian, liver, stomach, pancreatic and esophageal cancers— the median overall sensitivity, or the ability to find cancer sensitivity ranged from 69 percent to 98 percent. The test had greater than 99 percent specificity for cancer.

Symptoms, Screening & Early Detection
View Full Article
Related Videos