Scientists Edge Closer To A Blood Test To Detect Cancers.
Researchers say they have taken a step toward developing a blood test that would detect eight common cancers, possibly even before symptoms appear.
There have been many attempts over the decades to develop blood tests to screen for cancers.
Some look for proteins in the blood that appear with cancer.
Their experimental test, dubbed CancerSEEK, focuses on eight major cancers: lung, breast, colon, pancreas, liver, stomach, ovary and esophagus.
A low false-positive rate is critical for any test that could be used widely to screen people for cancer.
As for the cost of the test, Papadopoulos says the research team has tried hard to make it affordable. »