VISION, FEBRUARY 2018
Study shows cancer blood test can detect tumours The study, led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, involved 1,005 patients whose cancer - already pre-diagnosed based on their symptoms — was detected with an accuracy rate of about 70 percent overall. Cancers were detected in the ovaries, liver, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, colorectal, lung and breast. For five of these cancer types - ovary, liver, stomach, pancreas and esophagus - there are no screening tests available for people of average risk. The test was able to detect these five with a sensitivity range of 69 to 98 percent. Dr Cristian Tomasetti, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told the BBC: “This field of early detection is critical. I think this can have an enormous impact on cancer mortality.” The earlier a cancer is found, the greater the chance of being able to treat it. Nicholas Turner, professor of molecular oncology at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, pointed out that the test’s one percent false positive rate may sound low but “could be quite a concern for population screening.
There could be a lot of people who are told they have cancer, who may not have it.” However, Turner described the paper as “a step along the way to a possible blood test to screen for cancer, and the data presented is convincing from a technical perspective on the blood test."
One Step at a Time Warrior Walk Saturday, 4 February saw the Breast Health Foundation host their first annual One Step at a Time Cancer Warrior Walk in the Johannesburg Zoo to commemorate World Cancer Day.
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