This research paves the way for a a cheaper and easier way to help diagnose one of the world’s deadliest cancers.
By Shula Rosen
Tel Aviv University researchers have developed a simple blood test that detected lung cancer with more than 90% accuracy, raising the possibility of a cheaper and easier way to help diagnose one of the world’s deadliest cancers.
Unlike existing liquid biopsies, the new test does not require expensive and complex DNA sequencing. It currently costs about $60 per sample and can produce results within two to three days, according to the researchers.
In a study of 103 people, including 51 lung cancer patients and 52 healthy participants, the test distinguished patients with stage 2-4 lung cancer from healthy individuals with 93.1% sensitivity and 90.3% specificity.
The researchers hope the test could eventually be used alongside CT scans. While CT scans play an important role in detecting lung cancer, they can also identify suspicious abnormalities that turn out to be benign, potentially resulting in unnecessary biopsies or surgery.
The new approach instead looks for a chemical fingerprint left by cancer cells in the bloodstream. Researchers analyze cell-free DNA from a blood sample using a specially developed chip and light-emitting markers, allowing them to recognize patterns associated with lung cancer without sequencing the DNA itself.
The test was also able to distinguish between adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, the two main forms of lung cancer.
Researchers found early indications that the same test could eventually help doctors determine whether treatment is working. Among patients who responded to treatment, their blood test results shifted toward the pattern seen in healthy people. Those who did not respond showed no significant change. Larger studies are still needed to establish whether the test can reliably be used for treatment monitoring.
Prof. Yuval Ebenstein of Tel Aviv University led the study with researchers from JaxBio Technologies, Bnai Zion Medical Center and Sheba Medical Center. The findings were published in Nature Precision Oncology.
“Our goal is to make blood tests for cancer diagnosis more accessible, simpler, and less expensive without compromising accuracy,” Ebenstein said.
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