Breast Cancer Breakthrough: Blood Test To Detect Cancer

blood test blood test detects cancer cancer detection

By Collie Lane , Parent Herald Oct 04, 12:01 am

Researchers from Australian National University (ANU) have lately developed a simple blood test that can be utilized to detect whether patients have breast cancer or not. They have worked together with colleagues from France to come up with this cancer detection tool, which is less expensive and invasive than other cancer detection tests like mammogram and biopsies.

Based on the report of Breastcancer.org, about one in eight American women or 12 percent are going to develop malignant breast cancer, which is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in America over time. And in 2016, a projected 246,660 new cases of malignant breast cancer are anticipated to be detected in American women, together with 61,000 new cases of non-invasive breast tumors.

Women should not be troubled, though, as more new ways are being worked on and developed by scientists to detect and monitor and eventually defeat the fatal disease, just like what scientists from the Australian National University did. Researchers said to ABC that breast cancer could soon be detected by just a simple blood test.

How is it possible?

For the research breakthrough, researchers studied biopsy samples of cancer patients and healthy people in Pays de la Loire in Western France along with different cancerous cell lines in culture. "Our research shows the presence of isotopes carbon-13 and nitrogen-15 in certain proportions in a tissue sample can reveal whether the tissue is healthy or cancerous," Dr. Illa Tea, a Co-researcher from The John Curtin School of Medical Research at Australian National University, said to ABC.

Dr. Tea said that the idea for the new cancer detection tool was grounded on a research published in Scientific Reports, according to Drug Discovery Development. However, it is many years away from being utilized in hospitals as disclosed by the lead researcher, Professor Guillaume Tcherkez. "I think 10 years is the minimal time you need to redevelop things to provide evidence it works and also to provide evidence there is some potential clinical application that are scientifically and medically valid," Professor Tcherkez said.