New research suggests that a blood test that analyzes proteins in the blood could one day be used to test for common cancers.
Early trials of a new test showed it could detect 18 early-stage cancers, representing all major organs in the human body.
The developers say it brings them one step closer to developing a new generation of cancer screening tests that can be used by the entire population.
They suggest it outperforms others that rely on circulating tumor DNA in the blood, while having ‘much greater sensitivity’ than the Galleri test currently being trialled in the NHS.
Early trials of a new test showed it could detect 18 early-stage cancers, representing all major organs in the human body
But other scientists cautioned that the findings are “very preliminary,” adding that much further research is needed before deciding whether such tests could ever be used in a real world setting.
Proteomics is the study of proteins and helps experts learn how cancer develops and spreads, speeding diagnosis and leading to better treatment.
US biotech company Novelna said that by looking at proteins in blood plasma, they could distinguish cancer samples from normal samples, and even distinguish between different types of cancer ‘with high accuracy’.
The study also found evidence that signals from cancer proteins were likely sex-specific, meaning different tests could potentially be developed for men and women.
For the study, blood plasma samples were collected from 440 people diagnosed with 18 different types of cancer and from 44 healthy blood donors.
The team then identified early-stage cancer proteins and where they came from in the body.
The team wrote: ‘At stage I (the earliest stage of cancer) and with a specificity of 99 percent, our panels were able to identify 93 percent of cancers in men and 84 percent of cancers in women.
‘Our sex-specific localization panels consisted of 150 proteins and were able to identify the tissue of origin of most cancers in more than 80 percent of cases.’
Analysis of the amounts of plasma proteins also showed that almost all of these were present in very low concentrations.
This shows the importance of low-level proteins to pick up pre-cancerous and early-stage diseases before a tumor has had time to cause significant damage, they said.
However, the team said their relatively small sample size meant further research was needed in larger groups of people.
The researchers wrote in the journal BMJ Oncology: ‘This finding provides the basis for a multi-cancer screening test for the early detection of 18 solid tumors covering all major human organs of origin for such cancers at the earliest stage of their development. with high accuracy.
While the level of progress in cancer survival has been rapid in some forms of the disease, such as breast and prostate cancer, others, such as lung and pancreas, have improved only at a snail’s pace.
‘It is important to diagnose cancer at a very early stage, where curative treatments are achievable with surgery and available treatments.
‘Moreover, to our knowledge, we have found, for the first time, compelling evidence that the signatures of cancer proteins are most likely sex-specific across all cancers.’
The researchers said their test outperforms existing technologies, offering a more efficient approach to early cancer detection.
This could reform screening guidelines, making this plasma test a standard part of routine checks, they suggest.
Dr. Anguraj Sadanandam, director of the Center for Global Oncology at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, said: ‘This research could pave the way for a more prosperous and efficient way to identify cancers earlier, when they are easier to treat.
‘Several tests are currently in development to detect cancer at an early stage through a blood test, most of which detect fragments of tumor DNA in the blood.
‘This study showed that early cancers can also be detected by looking for the presence of sex-specific protein signatures in the blood.’
He acknowledged that this was early research and that more research, including large clinical trials, would be needed before this could be developed and approved as a diagnostic test.
Dr. Mangesh Thorat, honorary senior lecturer at the Center for Cancer Prevention at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, said questions still remain and further research is needed.
He said: ‘The interesting aspects of this test are a much higher sensitivity for stage I cancers than other comparable tests in terms of development and sex-specific performance differences that are biologically and clinically relevant.
“If test performance in future, well-designed sequential studies comes anywhere close to what this preliminary study suggests, then it could really be a game-changer.”
But Paul Pharoah, a professor of cancer epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said the “holy grail” for early detection is still far away.
He said: ‘Many such tests have been developed or are in development. This article reports on the first results of the development of such a test.
‘Although the results are promising, it is far too early to be confident that this test will prove useful for the early detection of cancer.’