Lung cancer breakthrough

London: Scientists in the UK have developed a blood test that detects the recurrence of lung cancer in patients up to a year before the disease can be detected by CT scans and Xrays.

The groundbreaking TRACERx study, funded by Cancer Research UK, identified the cause of relapse of the disease and how it spreads, in a discovery that could lead to earlier treatment for patients.

Scientists compared levels of tumour DNA in patients’ blood before and after postsurgery chemotherapy in the study and found the cancer returned when levels of tumour DNA in the blood were not reduced after the treatment. — AAP