Scientists have announced the development of an ultra-sensitive blood test for breast cancer that can detect breast cancer at its earliest stages and potentially improve breast cancer screening for younger women. Mammography, the standard method in breast cancer screening, is less accurate for younger women. The blood test is 200–1,000 times more sensitive than existing tests, according to UCL Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh and BioTraces, Inc. researchers who all worked to develop the test. Pilot studies also indicate the blood test might prove valuable in the screening for prostate cancer, ovarian cancer and melanoma skin cancer.
Currently, breast cancer diagnosis is done by breast examination, imaging with mammography and ultrasound, and then biopsy. The researchers are hoping that the new blood test might eliminate the need for a biopsy in making a final determination of cancer. The report is published in the Journal of Proteome Research.
