According to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a blood test along with a risk model based on person’s history can more accurately find whether the person can benefit from lung cancer screening or not. The study included participants from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer screening trial with at least 10 pack/year smoking history. It was led by researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
In this study, the researchers have developed a blood test by incorporating biomarkers that were previously identified as lung cancer risk predictive. The team used a blinded study and then evaluated the performance of four-protein marker panel with PLCOm2012 model with the purpose of predicting six-year risk for lung cancer among those who are smokers or have previously smoked in their life. These researchers have analyzed more than 10,000 biospecimens from PLCO study and these include 1299 blood samples of 552 individuals who developed lung cancer and 8709 samples collected from 2193 people who did not develop lung cancer. Those persons with at least 10 pack/year smoking history, the combined blood test with PLCOm2012 model showed overall improved sensitivity as well as improved specificity in comparison with current USPSTF criteria.
The combined personalized risk assessment would have identified 105 out of 119 people in the PLCO intervention arm who received lung cancer diagnosis within a year. Sam Hanash, MD, PhD, professor of Clinical Cancer Prevention and leader of the McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer said, “We recognize that a small percentage of people who are eligible for lung cancer screening through an annual low-dose CT scan is actually getting a screening. Moreover, CT screening is not readily available in most countries. So, our goal, for many years, has been to develop a simple blood test that can be used first to determine the need for screening and make screening for lung cancer that much more effective.” “Our study shows for the first time that a blood test could be useful to determine who may benefit from lung cancer screening,” he added.
The information shared in this blog is for educational purposes only. You should always contact your healthcare professional for any medical advice.
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