Israeli Study Develops Blood Test That Could Detect Lung Cancer With 93% Accuracy
The early bird gets the worm. This is the case in most areas of life. However, it is even more so the case when it comes to diagnoses, especially when it comes to cancer. The earlier a cancer can be diagnosed, the better the chances of treating it.
It is to that end, that a group of Israeli researchers from Tel Aviv University, JaxBio Technologies, Bnai Zion Medical Center, and Sheba Medical Center recently published a study in Nature Precision Oncology, highlighting a new technology that can detect lung cancer with 93 percent accuracy in its early as well as late stages.
A recent trial with 103 participants suggests that the test is fast, accessible, affordable, and accurate, reported the Times of Israel. This could diagnose the disease before it becomes symptomatic.
A Deadly Cancer
Lung cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world. At least 1.8 million people die of the disease a year, worldwide. The reason for this is that the early stages of lung cancer are for the most part asymptomatic. Most people don’t show symptoms until the disease has already progressed.
Dr. Abed Agbarya, director of the oncology department at Bnei Zion Medical Center, lead author of the study and its primary researcher, told the Times of Israel, “Most people arrive in the last stages of the disease. If we can discover the disease in its early stages, we can go to surgery. We can go to a full cure. The five-year survival rate would be much better.”
So how does the new diagnostic test differ from the tools that are available today?
DNA and Light
According to a Tel Aviv University press release, currently the primary way to detect early stage lung cancer is a CT scan. However, these can produce a large number of suspicious findings that are ultimately not cancer, leading to unnecessary testing and worry. In addition, the current liquid biopsies rely on complex DNA sequencing that are costly and hard to carry out.
The team at Tel Aviv University, however, discovered a way to detect the biological fingerprint of lung cancer with nothing but a blood test and some light. They did this by extracting cell-free DNA from the blood stream and labeling it with a light-emitting marker. The sample is then bound to a DNA chip which is scanned with an optical scanner. The presence of cancer can be identified by the way the sample lights up.
This is a much faster, and simpler system than a CT scan because all that is needed is a blood test and some light.
In addition to being able to detect lung cancer, in general, the test was also able to distinguish between the two main types of the disease — adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma — based on their distinct DNA.
The Next Steps
A more extensive trial is running in several hospitals in Israel and Europe, reported The Times of Israel. This phase is expected to be finished in mid-2027. While these larger trials will have to
Are necessary before the blood test can reach the market, the early results are still very encouraging.
The hope is that eventually a test for early stage lung cancer will be included in the regular panel of blood work that people should be having annually, thus allowing doctors and medical professionals to catch and potentially cure lung cancer before it really gets started.This new test could bring hope to millions of people every year.
