Blood test finds breast cancer at its earliest stage

[Guest guest]

It will be interesting to see what happens to this; will it go

the way of the AMAS http://www.amascancertest.com/ test? Meaning it works

and is still around, but only if one is lucky enough to know of it - as doctors

won't tell you about it [on the otherhand, maybe most allopathic doctors just

don't know?}.

blessings

Shan

Blood test finds breast cancer at its earliest stage

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article\

_id=399033 & in_page_id=17

By LUCY BALLINGER, Daily Mail

15:47pm 4th August 2006

 

 

Rsearchers have claimed that scans can actually trigger the disease in some

women A new blood test that detects breast cancer at its earliest stage could

become a vital weapon in fighting the disease.

 

Scientists found the test could pinpoint cancer long before it would show up

using other methods.

 

They believe it could be adapted to identify ovarian and prostate cancers as

well.

 

Trial results showed it was up to 1,000 times more sensitive than existing

tests.

 

The results could have far-reaching implications for diagnosis of the

disease, which claims up to 400,000 lives a year worldwide.

 

Breast cancer is the most common female cancer, with 1.1million new cases

each year.

 

In Britain, more than 40,000 women are diagnosed annually, with more than

12,400 deaths.

 

Doctors currently use a combination of breast examination, imaging with

mammography and ultrasonography, and biopsy to diagnose the condition.

 

But researchers recently claimed such scans could actually trigger the

disease in some women.

 

Cancer specialists found radiation from the X-rays leaves those with a family

history of breast cancer more than 50 per cent more likely to develop it.

 

They said the risk was highest for young women and those repeatedly given

X-rays.

 

This means a more effective screening method is needed, especially for the

rarer cases involving younger women. The new blood test offers the best hope.

 

It works by detecting subtle changes in proteins in the bloodstream, caused

when the immune system starts to fight a cancer.

 

The test may also help identify whether a tumour is malignant or benign,

ensuring the best treatment can be quickly selected. Early detection of cancer

gives the best chance of effective treatment. The five-year survival rate can be

as high as 97 per cent if the disease has not spread.

 

Professor Jasminka Godovac-Zimmerman, from University College London, reports

the findings in the Journal of Proteome Research today.

 

She led the group which included scientists from the Universities of

Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh and the U.S.company BioTraces Inc, based in Herndon,

Virginia.

 

" Our pilot studies show that using blood samples, breast cancer and several

other types of epithelial cancers (ovarian, prostate, melanoma) can be detected

with much better sensitivity and specificity, " she said.

 

She said this may allow new, less intrusive, safer and much less expensive

approaches for the early diagnosis of cancer.

 

It would also help in distinguishing malignant and benign tumours and in

monitoring cancer therapy.

 

Stephen Duffy, Cancer Research UK's professor of screening, said further

trials are needed before the test can be used by doctors.