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A new blood test can predict the recurrence of breast cancer tumors up to three years before they appear. Researchers are talking about a breakthrough in the fight against breast cancer.
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, the world’s largest cancer conference. The results show that a personal liquid biopsy can provide a very early warning that the cancer will eventually return. Tests that detect small amounts of cancerous DNA should help doctors determine which women need preventive treatment and which do not. The tests are so sensitive that they can predict the risk of cancer recurrence months or even years in advance, long before the usual symptoms appear.
The official results are already encouraging. Researchers from the center Breast cancer now Toby Robins In London, they were able to identify every patient and study participant who later relapsed. The average relapse time was 15 months, the longest was 41 months. A total of 78 women with different forms of breast cancer participated in the study. Eleven of them relapsed within five years of initial treatment.
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“Early detection is one of the most important weapons in the fight against breast cancer. “Initial findings suggesting that blood tests can detect signs of breast cancer recurrence up to a year before symptoms appear are very encouraging,” said Simon Vincent, director of research at the center who led the study. funded.
Although this research is still in its early stages, detecting breast cancer recurrence earlier means that treatment is much more likely to destroy the cancer and prevent it from spreading to other parts of the body. Experts hope that the findings will lead to a strategy where treatments can be started earlier.