New Study Found Blood Test For Early Stage Lung Cancer

American researchers reported last week an easy way to detect lung cancer in patients way before an x-ray and CT scan could by a blood test that looks for the body’s own immune response.

The researchers reported that the blood test accurately predicted non-small-cell lung cancer in blood samples taken from patients years before they were actually diagnosed with lung cancer.

All forms of cancer have a higher chance of being treated and cured when found in their early stage. But like pancreatic cancer, lung cancer is mostly detected in its advanced stage and is so far that biggest cancer killer globally.

Therefore an early stage test would be bliss both to patients and physicians. If the results of this study can be confirmed true, this may become the first new blood screen for any cancer since the prostate specific antigen or PSA test. This blood test is privately licensed to 20/20 GeneSystems Inc.

Much like the recent case of my dear friend:

Special X-rays known as computed tomography or CT scans can find lung cancer tumors, but they have a high rate of false positives — meaning many people have to undergo a painful biopsy to get a piece of a suspicious lump out of the lung, only to find out it was not cancerous after all. By the time people have symptoms of lung cancer, it is usually too late to save them.

This research study was reported in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.

Source: Reuters ; Photo Credit: Sciam