Jessica Glenza - Doctors welcome possible 'holy grail of cancer research'
A blood test for 10
different types of cancers could one day help doctors screen for the disease
before patients show symptoms, researchers at the world’s largest gathering of
oncologists have said. The test, called
a liquid
biopsy, screens for cancer by detecting tiny bits of DNA released by cancer
cells into blood. The test had particularly good results for ovarian and
pancreatic cancers, though the number of cancers detected was small. Researchers hope the
test will become part of a “universal screening” tool that doctors can use to
detect cancer in patients.
“This is potentially
the holy grail of cancer research, to find cancers that are currently hard to
cure at an earlier stage when they are easier to cure,” said Dr Eric Klein,
lead author of the research from Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Institute.
“We hope this test could save many lives.” The study, by a
research team that also included scientists from Stanford University, was
presented at the annual conference of the American Society of Clinical
Oncologists in Chicago.
Simon Stevens, the
chief executive of NHS England, said “new techniques” such as cancer blood
tests could “unlock enormous survival gains, as well as dramatic productivity
benefits in the practice of medicine”. “Now, as the NHS marks
its 70th anniversary, we stand on the cusp of a new era of personalised
medicine that will dramatically transform care for cancer and for inherited and
rare diseases,” said Stevens. The research
scrutinised the cases of more than 1,600 people, 749 of whom were cancer-free
at the time of the study, with no diagnosis, and 878 of whom had been newly
diagnosed with a disease. The test was most
accurate for diagnosing pancreatic, ovarian, liver and gallbladder cancers,
correctly finding the diseases in at least four out of five patients. The blood test found
lymphoma and myeloma with slightly less accuracy, at 77% and 73%, and bowel
cancer in two out of three patients. Lung cancer was
detected in 59% of patients. Head and neck cancer was detected in 56% of
patients.
Researchers said their
results showed promise in the approach of blood screenings for cancer, but
noted further “clinical development” was needed. The number of patients
in whom cancers were detected was small. For example, although the test
detected ovarian cancer with 90% accuracy, only 10 ovarian cancers in total
were detected. Neverthe-less,
researchers aim to develop a tool that could be used by for all people
regardless of their family history. “Potentially this test could be used for
everybody,” said Klein. Prof Nicholas Turner
from the Institute of Cancer Research in London described the findings as
really exciting and as a possible universal screening tool.
“Far too many cancers are picked up too late, when it is no longer possible to operate and the chances of survival are slim,” he said. “The goal is to develop a blood test, such as this one, that can accurately identify cancers in their earliest stages.” Klein added: “It is several steps away and more research is needed, but it could be given to healthy adults of a certain age, such as those over 40, to see if they have early signs of cancer.”
“Far too many cancers are picked up too late, when it is no longer possible to operate and the chances of survival are slim,” he said. “The goal is to develop a blood test, such as this one, that can accurately identify cancers in their earliest stages.” Klein added: “It is several steps away and more research is needed, but it could be given to healthy adults of a certain age, such as those over 40, to see if they have early signs of cancer.”
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