Are we ready for a blood test for cancer? (in research)

medical news article

What if screening for cancer was as easy as checking your cholesterol? That's the promise of techniques currently in development that may one day make it possible to detect the earliest stages of cancer with an annual blood draw.

So-called "liquid biopsies" involve extracting free-floating cancer cells or cancer DNA from the bloodstream (or in some cases from the urine) to get information about tumors too small or hidden to detect with standard techniques. This could make it possible for clinicians to remotely monitor how cancer patients are responding to treatment, to detect early warning signs of recurrence, and even to pick up the very first signs of cancer in otherwise healthy people....

"It's important to maintain healthy skepticism," Witte said, "But right now I'd say most researchers are cautiously optimistic."