Doctors launch experimental blood test capable of detecting more than 50 types of cancer – CBS New York

NEW YORK (CBSNew York) – Cancer is expected to become the leading cause of death in the United States this year, which is why experts say early detection and treatment is so important.

CBS2’s Dr Max Gomez says doctors are currently deploying an experimental test that may be able to detect more than 50 cancers with just one blood test.

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Dr. Julia Feygin lost her 40-year-old father to pancreatic cancer at the age of 13.

“My dad was a healthy guy. He had no known risk factors for cancer, ”she said.

Diagnosed at stage three, he only lived for nine months.

“I firmly believe that goal can be found in whatever is going on,” said Feygin.

Feygin’s goal became to join a team deploying a blood test called Galleri which she says can detect hard-to-detect, aggressive and often fatal cancers like pancreatic, ovarian and esophageal cancer. It can detect more than 50 types in all.

“If cancers can be detected early, we can dramatically improve patient outcomes,” Feygin said.

It works because when the cells in our body die – normal and cancerous cells have a finite lifespan – they release their DNA into the bloodstream.

The key is to identify the difference in the DNA signature of a cancer cell compared to a normal cell.

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Feygin’s company, Galleri, says it can do it by analyzing just two tubes of blood.

“We can find and sequence these tiny pieces of tumor-derived DNA in the blood, and based on the patterns we see, we can reveal if a cancer signal is present,” Feygin said. “We can predict with great precision where this cancer signal is coming from in the body.”

A study with the Mayo Clinic that included 6,600 participants returned 29 signals that were followed by a cancer diagnosis.

Another study found a false positive rate of less than 1%.

But for now…

“It is intended for use in people at high risk for cancer and at high risk, it can be something as simple as age,” Feygin said.

The American Cancer Society says 71% of cancer deaths come from types of cancer for which no screening test is recommended.

“It really presents an unprecedented opportunity to bend the cancer mortality curve and really save so many lives,” said Feygin.

The test requires a prescription but is not yet fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration, so its cost of $ 1,000 is out of pocket.

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If these study results are repeated in other labs, it could mean that the oncologist’s search for the holy grail of a so-called liquid biopsy for early detection could lead to a dramatic drop in cancer mortality.