This test, which is inexpensive and easy to administer, has helped diagnose cancer for the first time.
This test, which was created by Oxford University researchers and uses radio waves and magnet fields to determine the presence of’metabolites’ within the blood.
The team can distinguish between healthy individuals and people who have metastatic or localised cancer.
According to the team, this test can detect the presence of cancer in patients even if they don’t have specific symptoms.
It is both quick and affordable, and may be able to overcome many of the barriers that prevent early detection of cancer and increase the chances of success with subsequent treatment.
It is a different approach to traditional cancer tests that rely on the detection of tumour-derived genetic material.
A blood test that is inexpensive and easy to administer has been used in a groundbreaking cancer diagnosis. It can tell whether a person has the disease or not (stock photo).
‘Cancer cells have unique metabolomic fingerprints due to their different metabolic processes,’ explained lead paper author and oncologist James Larkin of the University of Oxford.
“We only just now understand the potential of metabolites from tumours to be used as biomarkers for cancer detection.
“We already have demonstrated that the technology is capable of identifying if multiple sclerosis patients are in advanced stages, before any trained physicians could.
“It’s very exciting to see the same technology being used in cancer and other diseases.”
In their study, Dr Larkin and colleagues analysed blood samples collected from 300 patients — each of whom exhibited non-specific but concerning symptoms of potential cancer, such as fatigue and weight loss.
The subjects were recruited as part of the so-called Oxfordshire Suspected Cancer (or ‘SCAN’) pathway. Similar NHS Rapid Diagnostic Centres are being set up across the country as part of an effort to support faster and earlier cancer diagnoses.
The researchers found that their test correctly identified the presence of solid tumours — of various types — in 19 out of every 20 of the patients with cancer.
Furthermore, the test was able to identify metastatic disease to an overall accuracy of 94 per cent, making the approach the first to be able to determine a cancer’s metastatic status without knowing of the type of the primary cancer in question.
The team has completed their first study and now plan to test the blood test on larger groups of patients with the goal to make clinical applications.
“This research describes a novel way to identify cancer. The goal is to produce a test for cancer that any GP can request,’ said paper author and analytical chemical biologist Fay Probert, also of the University of Oxford.
“We believe that the metabolomic analysis will enable accurate, timely, and economical triaging for patients suspected of having cancer.
She noted that this could allow for better priority of patients, based on early data from the test.
Clinical Cancer Research published the full results of this study.