In the study, published Dec. 19 in JAMA Oncology, researchers at the Memphis, Tenn.-based hospital used a blood test developed by life sciences company Karius to test samples from leukemia patients. Of those patients who developed bloodstream infections during the study period, the Karius test detected the infections as early as three days before symptoms appeared in 75 percent of the cases.
“Parents of children with cancer often wish that they had a crystal ball to know what’s coming next; this might just be that,” Josh Wolf, MD, PhD, co-author of the study and associate member of the department of infectious diseases at St. Jude, said in a news release.
Per the release, not only are infections a leading cause of death for leukemia patients in the U.S., but some pediatric patients actually have a higher chance of dying from a bloodstream infection than from the cancer itself.
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