US researchers have developed an ultra-sensitive and low-cost blood test to detect minute levels of a cancer biomarker that is highly specific for several types of cancer.
Each test can be performed with just half a drop of blood (25 microliters), he writes EurekAlert.
The test is designed to detect the protein encoded by LINE-1 (ORF1p), which is known to occur in many types of cancer but not in normal tissue, according to a report published in the journal Cancer Discovery.
The authors describe their first research on the test as a pilot experiment that delivered results beyond expectations.
“We were shocked at how well this test performed in detecting biomarker expression in all types of cancer,” said lead study author Martin Taylor, MD, PhD, of the General Hospital’s Department of Pathology from Massachusetts.
Studies of tissue samples from 200 colon cancer biopsies and 75 esophageal biopsies obtained from patients at various stages of the disease showed that tissue expression of ORF1p was prevalent in carcinomas and high-risk precursor lesions.
2023-10-11 21:04:00
#blood #test #detect #types #cancer
