Simple blood tests could be the future of cancer diagnosis

[smfadmin (OP)]

https://www.livescience.com/health/cancer/simple-blood-tests-could-be-the-future-of-cancer-diagnosis?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pushly&utm_campaign=Clicked%20Last%2090

March 22, 2025

Blood tests that detect early cancer are coming to market. Could they lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment?

Around four years ago, now 77-year-old John Gormly went for what was supposed to be a routine blood test. But the results were life-changing.

The test suggested Gormly had colon cancer, which a colonoscopy later confirmed was Stage 2, meaning the cancer had spread through the wall of the colon but not to his lymph nodes.

"I thought [my doctor] was wrong," Gormly, CEO of a construction company near Newport Beach, California, told Live Science. "I go, 'Nah, I don't feel anything.' But there it was. It was real; the colonoscopy showed it."

Gormly was one of the first patients to take a newly approved test called Shield, which its makers say can detect colon cancer from a blood sample. After his diagnosis, Gormly had surgery to remove the tumor and was back to work within 10 days.

An early version of Guardant Health's Shield test has been commercially available since 2022, but it wasn't covered by insurance. However, after approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July 2024, a diagnostic version of Shield was launched commercially and is now covered by Medicare.

Shield is only a blood drop in an ocean of emerging "liquid biopsies."

Scientists have developed blood tests for several cancers, including those of the breast, pancreas and stomach. Some blood tests even detect multiple types of cancer. If these liquid biopsies can be rolled out widely, they could help detect cancer earlier, more easily, or with fewer invasive measures — which, in turn, could lead to earlier detection and fewer cancer deaths.

The article continues ...


Scientists have developed new blood tests that can detect early chemical signatures of cancer. For diseases like pancreatic cancer, that could lead to earlier diagnosis and a better prognosis. (Image credit: CSA Images via Getty Images)