Soon doctors will be able to diagnose cancer by blood analysis
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
The newest method of blood research was offered by American specialists in biology, representing the University of California at San Diego. Ultramodern analysis will allow timely detection of elements of malignant cells in the circulatory system of the patient, and even point to a specific location of the tumor.
"Yes, we do not hide that we came to this discovery accidentally," the scientists comment on the situation. "We traditionally looked for additional ways to detect malignant cells in the tissues of the human body, and hoped to determine the relationship of their appearance. But, when we detected specific chemical signals from healthy cellular structures, we realized that their combination provides us with an opportunity to determine the presence of oncology and its location, "said Dr. Kun Zhang, MD.
Every year, a huge number of people die as a result of cancer. Approximately 90% of deaths are a consequence of late diagnosis of a malignancy, when the cancer is at a stage where the medicine is no longer able to help anything.
Given the existing problem, scientists in recent years have begun to develop all sorts of ultramodern methods of preclinical diagnosis of oncological pathology. It is very important to identify the disease even before the stage of clinical manifestations and the spread of metastases. For example, a few years ago, medical specialists from leading European and American clinics established a method for determining oncology for blood analysis. And the accuracy of this definition is 100%. Indeed, such an analysis proved to be very effective, but he could not provide information on the location of the malignant focus.
In the new study, scientists took into account such a moment that any tissue in the human body has a strictly individual set of epigenetic markers - chemical groups that stimulate and inactivate genes. The researchers recounted these markers on the elements of the sown cancer cells from ten varieties of body tissues. Such markers are easy to find, as well as determine their number: however, these simple calculi will help to establish the localization of the oncological process.
Specialists will soon improve a new way of analyzing blood, after which it can be used in diagnostic centers and clinics. The doctors are sure that the innovation in the field of diagnostics will help to accurately and timely find the cancer processes at the initial stage of development, which will help save the lives of many thousands of people.
It is assumed that the new developed method will help determine the place of development of oncology with an accuracy of 80 to 90%, regardless of the presence of metastases. Such conclusions were made after testing blood samples taken from several dozen oncology patients who underwent anti-cancer treatment in a hospital at the University of California.
[1]