Method, using special technology to image a single molecule, would be breakthrough for pancreatic cancer, which today cannot be identified by any single diagnostic test.
Israeli scientists say they have invented a blood test will be able to detect colorectal cancer, which is normally found through an invasive test, and pancreatic cancer, which today has no single diagnostic test.
They claim that the test could also simplify screening for other cancers, and save lives by eliminating invasive colonoscopies for colorectal cancer, which many patients are afraid of and skip.
Dr. Efrat Shema developed a special technology for imaging a single molecule from blood samples, and has successfully used the innovation to screen for colorectal cancer — the cancer used for the proof-of-concept.
She detailed the breakthrough, achieved with her colleagues at the Weizmann Institute of Science, in a new peer-reviewed journal article published in Nature Biotechnology, revealing that her test achieved 92 percent accuracy in detecting colorectal cancer.
She said initial testing was conducted on colorectal cancer, but the test has been designed to screen for pancreatic cancer as well and will be adapted to detect a wide range of cancers, and possibly other diseases too.
“We’ve achieved a successful proof-of-concept for our method, which now needs to be confirmed in clinical trials,” she stated. “In the future, our approach may serve to diagnose not only various cancers but also additional diseases that leave traces in the blood, such as autoimmune disorders and heart disease.”
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