Blood test could replace biopsy for cancer diagnosis
A simple blood test could be on the way to replacing the biopsy as the gold standard for detecting cancer, saving lives and money, according to researchers in the UK. Findings on the revolutionary new treatment were presented this week at the annual World Conference on Lung Cancer in Colorado by Eric Lim, consultant thoracic surgeon at Royal Brompton Harefield National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust.
Biopsy has hitherto been the most reliable way to establish the presence of cancerous cells, but it is an invasive, costly and sometimes risky procedure. It also takes time, which cancer patients cannot afford to lose.
The groundbreaking blood test would alleviate pressure on patients and health care providers by offering a quick, nonintrusive alternative, which
would cost hundreds rather than thousands of dollars per patient.
According to Lim, who led the trial, patients would have the results within days.
Biopsies are expensive. A study presented in 2014 at the Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology showed that a biopsy costs on average $14,634 per patient. In a random survey of 8,979 Medicare patients aged 65-74, between
July 2009 and December 2010, 43.1% had negative biopsies, costing $16.5 million. In addition, almost 20% of patients undergoing lung biopsy suffered complications.
Moreover, since biopsy is a specialist procedure, often carried out during a computed tomography (CT) scan or an operation, there can be long waiting times, putting patients lives further at risk.
This new, simple blood test could change all that.
The new study, carried out at the Royal Brompton Hospital and the UKs National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), at Imperial College London, involved 223 patients with known or suspected primary or secondary lung cancer who were about to undergo surgery. The researchers were not told whether the cancer was confirmed or not.
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