New blood test hailed as ‘Holy Grail’ in cancer fight
A SIMPLE blood test has been developed that can diagnose cancer in just 10 minutes.
It spots tiny amounts of DNA floating through vessels that could only have come from tumours and not healthy cells.
The breakthrough could lead to much earlier detection and more chance of a cure, with treatment beginning even years before symptoms develop.
It is hoped it will eventually be performed at the same time as routine blood tests such as a cholesterol check – even using a mobile phone app.
Corresponding author, Professor Matt Trau, of the University of Queensland, Brisbane, believes it may be the “Holy Grail” of cancer diagnostics.
He said: “Virtually every piece of cancerous DNA we examined had this highly predictable pattern.”
If a cell is imagined as a hard-drive, then the new findings suggest that the disease needs certain genetic programmes, or “apps”, in order to run.
Mr Trau said: “It seems to be a general feature for all cancer. It’s a startling discovery.
“The test to detect cancerous cells can be performed in 10 minutes.”
In experiments it distinguished tumours from healthy cells with up to 90 per cent accuracy.
The technique can also be used on tissue biopsies.
Blood tests are sometimes ordered to help doctors diagnose cancer, but different ones are required depending on the type suspected.
And they are not definitive, but one step in the process.
An MRI scan is the most often used method, but it tends to miss small tumours, only working to confirm a diagnosis when it is often too late to start treatment.
About nine in 10 cancer deaths involve a diagnosis that came too late.
So the Australian team’s breakthrough paves the way to saving countless lives.
The test exploits the differences between the DNA in cancerous and healthy cells to allow for a quick, early diagnosis. It is based on a process known as epigenetics – the attachment of a chemical tag known as a methyl group to DNA.