(Press-News.org) A single blood test, designed to pick up chemical signals indicative of the presence of many different types of cancer, could potentially thwart progression to advanced disease while the malignancy is still at an early stage and amenable to treatment in up to half of cases, suggests a modelling study published in the open access journal BMJ Open.
Incorporating the test, formally known as a multi-cancer early detection test, or MCED for short, either yearly or biennially, could therefore improve outcomes for patients by intercepting disease progression, suggest the researchers.
Currently, only a few cancers can be reliably screened for—those of the breast, bowel, cervix (neck of the womb), and lung for those at high risk. While effective at lowering death rates from these diseases, these screens can also result in false positive results and overdiagnosis, say the researchers.
The optimal interval at which screening will pick up the most cancers at an early stage (I and II) while at the same time avoiding unnecessary testing and treatment still isn’t clear.
To inform future clinical trials, the researchers drew on a previously published disease progression model for many different cancers. They used this to predict the impact of regular screening with an MCED test on the time of cancer diagnosis and patient death for different screening schedules among 50-79 year olds in receipt of usual care.
The screening schedules modelled ranged from 6 months to 3 years, but with an emphasis on annual and biennial screening for two sets of cancer growth scenarios. These were ‘fast’, where tumours remain at stage I for between 2 and 4 years before progressing; and ‘fast aggressive’ where tumours remain at stage 1 for between 1 and 2 years, with decreasing periods of time for progression to successive stages.
Cancer types included were those of the anus; bladder; breast; cervix; bowel/rectum; food pipe (oesophagus); gallbladder; head and neck; kidney; liver/ bile-duct; lung; ovary; pancreas; prostate; sarcoma (soft tissues/bone); stomach; thyroid; urothelial tract, and uterus, as well as leukaemia, lymphoma, melanoma, blood cancers (myeloid neoplasm, immune cell cancers (plasma cell neoplasm).
The researchers drew on MCED test characteristics from a recently published report and patient outcomes from population cancer data from the US Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) programme.
Their analysis showed that all MCED screening intervals had more favourable early-stage diagnostic rates than usual care alone. There was a larger impact on stage shift for tumours with ‘fast’ growth than for tumours with ‘fast aggressive’ growth.
But annual MCED screening under the fast tumour growth scenario was associated with a higher number of diagnoses: 370 more cancer signals were detected per year per 100,000 people screened, with 49% fewer late-stage diagnoses, and 21% fewer deaths within 5 years than usual care.
While biennial MCED screening was able to shift the stage at diagnosis and avert deaths, it was not as effective as annual screening: 292 more cancer signals were detected/year/100,000 people screened; 39% fewer late-stage diagnoses; and 17% fewer deaths within 5 years than usual care.
Annual MCED screening prevented more deaths within 5 years than biennial screening for the fast tumour growth scenario. But biennial screening had a higher positive predictive value: 54% compared with 43%. In other words ,it picked up more cancers for each completed test.
And it was more efficient at preventing more deaths within 5 years per 100,000 tests—132 compared with 84, although it prevented fewer deaths per year, so was less effective.
Given that 392 people are diagnosed each year with an aggressive cancer that would kill them within 5 years, earlier diagnosis through biennial MCED screening could have averted 54 (14%) of these deaths. But annual MCED screening could have avoided 84 (21%) fewer deaths, say the researchers.
“Based on the performance characteristics from a case control study, both annual and biennial screening with an MCED test have the potential to intercept 31–49% of cancers at stage I-II that would otherwise present at stage III-IV,” they estimate.
“Of these, approximately equal numbers would be detected at stage I and at stage II: 14% stage I and 16% stage II to 23% stage I and 26% stage II.”
The researchers acknowledge that their estimates assume 100% compliance with the recommended screening schedule and 100% accuracy of confirmatory follow up tests, and so represent the upper bounds of potential benefits of MCED cancer screening.
It is also assumed that a reduction in the number of late-stage cancer diagnoses would automatically reduce death rates from the disease. And they point out: “The optimal choice of screening interval will depend on assessments of real-world cancer survival and the costs of confirmatory testing after MCED screening.
“However, both annual and biennial MCED screening intervals have the potential to avert deaths associated with late-stage cancers when used in addition to current guideline-based cancer screening.”
END
Blood test for many cancers could potentially thwart progression to late stage in up to half of cases
Adding this test to usual care yearly or every two years could improve patient outcomes
2025-05-08
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Women non-smokers still around 50% more likely than men to develop COPD
2025-05-08
Women’ are around 50% more likely than men to develop COPD, the umbrella term for chronic lung conditions, such as emphysema and bronchitis, even if they have never smoked or smoked much less than their male counterparts, suggests observational research, published in the open access journal BMJ Open Respiratory Research.
The findings challenge the widely held belief that women’s increased vulnerability to cigarette smoke likely explains this disparity, conclude the researchers.
Smoking is the principal cause of COPD. But despite significant falls in cigarette smoking over the past 50 years, it remains a leading cause of death in the USA, with the ...
AI tool uses face photos to estimate biological age and predict cancer outcomes
2025-05-08
Eyes may be the window to the soul, but a person’s biological age could be reflected in their facial characteristics. Investigators from Mass General Brigham developed a deep learning algorithm called FaceAge that uses a photo of a person’s face to predict biological age and survival outcomes for patients with cancer. They found that patients with cancer, on average, had a higher FaceAge than those without and appeared about five years older than their chronological age. Older FaceAge predictions were ...
North Korea’s illegal wildlife trade threatens endangered species
2025-05-08
The North Korean government engages in unsustainable and illegal wildlife trade, which includes species protected under its own laws and poses a threat to biodiversity recovery in the region, finds a groundbreaking new study by UCL researchers.
The report, published in Biological Conservation, found that although North Korea has a regulatory system of protected areas and protected species, these are regularly breached by people hunting and trapping wild animals for personal consumption or black market trade, either domestically or for sale to buyers in China.
Additionally, the North Korean state itself is implicated in, and actively profiting from, harvesting and trade of endangered ...
Health care workers, firefighters have increased PFAS levels, study finds
2025-05-08
A study including researchers from the University of Arizona Health Sciences and published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology found that firefighters had higher concentrations of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, and health care workers had moderate elevations of PFAS in their blood with significantly higher odds of two specific PFAS when compared with other essential workers.
“Our study reinforces previous research showing ...
Turning light into usable energy
2025-05-08
Every time a screen flickers to life, or sunlight powers a home, energy is being transferred from light into something useful. Yet for all of its ubiquity, scientists do not fully understand the process by which light transfers energy through materials.
A grant from the U.S. Department of Defense will allow UC Riverside scientists to address that mystery. The research aims to deepen scientific understanding of one of physics’ most complex interactions.
The four-year, $1 million grant funds a collaborative effort between UCR theoretical chemist Bryan Wong and experimental ...
Important step towards improving diagnosis and treatment of brain metastases
2025-05-08
Brain metastases often occur as a result of advanced cancer and, despite medical innovations, are still associated with a poor prognosis. Now, an international expert committee led by the Medical University of Vienna and the Ludwig Maximilian University Hospital (LMU) in Munich has taken an important step towards improving diagnostics and therapy monitoring. A special imaging procedure, amino acid PET, can not only improve patient care, but also advance research into the development of new treatment ...
Maternal cardiometabolic health during pregnancy associated with higher blood pressure in children, NIH study finds
2025-05-08
Children born to mothers with cardiometabolic health issues before or during pregnancy may face a higher risk of elevated blood pressure in childhood and adolescence, according to a new study funded by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
High blood pressure in childhood often continues into adulthood and is linked to a greater risk of heart problems later in life. This ECHO research offers insights into how a mother’s heart and metabolic health before and during pregnancy may contribute to her child’s long-term cardiovascular well-being.
The study analyzed data from 12,480 mother-child ...
Mercury levels in the atmosphere have decreased throughout the 21st century
2025-05-08
Mercury is released by environmental and human-driven processes. And some forms, specifically methylmercury, are toxic to humans. Therefore, policies and regulations to limit mercury emissions have been implemented across the globe. And, according to research published in ACS ES&T Air, those efforts may be working. Researchers found that atmospheric mercury levels have decreased by almost 70% in the last 20 years, mainly because human-caused emissions have been reduced.
“By tracking mercury pollution over four decades at the top of the world, we show that global efforts to reduce pollution ...
This soft robot “thinks” with its legs
2025-05-08
A research team from AMOLF in Amsterdam created a soft robot that walks, hops, and swims — all without a brain, electronics, or AI. Just soft tubes, air, and some clever physics.
The study published this week in Science describes one of the fastest soft robots yet, and one of the simplest. It has no computer, no software, and no sensors. And still, it moves with surprising coordination and autonomy, simply because of its body and how it interacts with the world.
So, what’s really driving it? Underneath the movement is a principle you’ve probably seen, though maybe overlooked. Think of those wobbly, ...
Biologists identify targets for new pancreatic cancer treatments
2025-05-08
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Researchers from MIT and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered that a class of peptides expressed in pancreatic cancer cells could be a promising target for T-cell therapies and other approaches that attack pancreatic tumors.
Known as cryptic peptides, these molecules are produced from sequences in the genome that were not thought to encode proteins. Such peptides can also be found in some healthy cells, but in this study, the researchers identified about 500 that appear to be found only in pancreatic ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Blood test for many cancers could potentially thwart progression to late stage in up to half of cases
Women non-smokers still around 50% more likely than men to develop COPD
AI tool uses face photos to estimate biological age and predict cancer outcomes
North Korea’s illegal wildlife trade threatens endangered species
Health care workers, firefighters have increased PFAS levels, study finds
Turning light into usable energy
Important step towards improving diagnosis and treatment of brain metastases
Maternal cardiometabolic health during pregnancy associated with higher blood pressure in children, NIH study finds
Mercury levels in the atmosphere have decreased throughout the 21st century
This soft robot “thinks” with its legs
Biologists identify targets for new pancreatic cancer treatments
Simple tweaks to a gene underlie the stench of rotten-smelling flowers
Simple, effective interventions reduce emissions from Bangladesh’s informal brick kilns
Ultrasound-guided 3D bioprinting enables deep-tissue implant fabrication in vivo
Soft limbs of flexible tubes and air enable dynamic, autonomous robotic locomotion
Researchers develop practical solution to reduce emissions and improve air quality from brick manufacturing in Bangladesh
Durham University scientists solve 500-million-year fossil mystery
Red alert for our closest relatives
3D printing in vivo using sound
Global Virus Network meeting unites Caribbean and Latin America to tackle emerging viral threats
MD Anderson Research Highlights for May 8, 2025
Study of Türkiye gold mine landslide highlights need for future monitoring
Researchers find new defense against hard-to-treat plant diseases
Characterization of research grant terminations at the National Institutes of Health
New study: high efficiency of severe thalassemia prevention with HTS based carrier screening
AI-designed DNA controls genes in healthy mammalian cells for first time
Veterans with depression have increased risk of heart failure: Study
Maternal cardiometabolic risk factors in pregnancy and offspring blood pressure at ages 2 to 18
Depression and heart failure in US veterans
Experiences of care and gaslighting in patients with vulvovaginal disorders
[Press-News.org] Blood test for many cancers could potentially thwart progression to late stage in up to half of casesAdding this test to usual care yearly or every two years could improve patient outcomes