Introducing CancerSEEK

A blood test, CancerSEEK, has shown some efficacy in detecting a variety of cancer types, including some for which screening is currently difficult or impossible (although stomach, which is listed by them in that category, can be interrogated by upper GI endoscopy or barium imaging).  Interesting, some data can be obtained from this blood test to actually localize where the tumor is to a small number of anatomic locations for the types of cancer studied.  This is a promising diagnostic tool.  Abstract:

Earlier detection is key to reducing cancer deaths. Here we describe a blood test that can detect eight common cancer types through assessment of the levels of circulating proteins and mutations in cell-free DNA. We applied this test, called CancerSEEK, to 1,005 patients with non-metastatic, clinically detected cancers of the ovary, liver, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, colorectum, lung, or breast. CancerSEEK tests were positive in a median of 70% of the eight cancer types. The sensitivities ranged from 69% to 98% for the detection of five cancer types (ovary, liver, stomach, pancreas, and esophagus) for which there are no screening tests available for average-risk individuals. The specificity of CancerSEEK was > 99%: only 7 of 812 healthy controls scored positive. In addition, CancerSEEK localized the cancer to a small number of anatomic sites in a median of 83% of the patients.