With a blood test, lung cancer can be predicted

July 14, 2018 – 20:55
They identified 63% of patients who later suffered from the disease. This is for smokers and ex-smokers.

A new blood test that evaluates four protein indicators or biomarkers significantly improves detection of lung cancer risk, reported the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)

. identify people who will undergo a CT scan, a radiological examination usually used for the diagnosis of this disease.

One of the study's lead researchers, Mattias Johansson, said that it was "the first time that we use the blood test in a context of early detection of lung cancer in healthy people. " This new model takes into account the individual's tobacco consumption and badyzes blood levels of the CA125, Pro-SFTPB, CYFRA 21-1 and CEA proteins, some of which, like CYFRA 21-1, are already screened individually for diagnose other cancers, such as ovarian cancer.

The study badyzed the blood of lung cancer patients while they had not yet developed the disease.

This new disease detection system, according to Johansson, identified 63% of future patients, between smokers and ex-smokers, while the percentage with current criteria to follow closely is about 42%. % in the USA.

Christopher Wild, Director of IARC, said in a press release that although "tobacco is the best way to reduce the risk of developing lung cancer, in smokers and ex-smokers who are high risk, early detection has a key role in reducing this disease "The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the badysis of the molecules present in the blood can facilitate the identification of smokers and former smokers who will be suffering from lung cancer in the future. To do this, the authors badyzed blood samples from 108 smokers with lung cancer in the 12 months following the blood collection. Then they compared them to 216 other people who also smoked but did not develop the tumor (control group).

Results indicate that patients who eventually developed cancer had abnormal levels of four proteins in the blood: CA125, Pro-SFTPB, CYFRA 21-1 and CEA

Lung cancer accounts for 20% of all cancer deaths worldwide and the vast majority of 80-90% are caused by smoking, as confirmed by IARC, an entity part of the World Health Organization (WHO).