A blood test developed by researchers from Stanford (Calif.) Medicine is capable of detecting cancer and identifying how cancers might resist treatment.
Here are four things to know about the test:
- The test analyzes cell-free RNA molecules in the bloodstream, meaning the molecules are no longer part of a cell. These RNA molecules, or fragments, can be found in the bloodstream after cancer tumor cells die.
- Over six years, researchers developed methods to target those RNA fragments, according to an April 21 news release from Stanford. These methods enable them to detect cancer at different disease stages and track cancer treatment resistance, as well as monitor tissue injury caused by noncancerous conditions.
- The test was able to identify cancer RNA in 73% of lung cancer patients across multiple disease stages, according to a study published April 16 in Nature.
- Researchers from Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the University of Washington, contributed to the study.
Read the full study here.
