Companies report progress on blood tests to detect cancer

By: Marilynn Marchione, The Associated Press Posted: Last Modified:

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A California company says its experimental blood test was able to detect many types of cancer at an early stage and gave very few false alarms in a study that included people with and without the disease.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/05/2019 (2661 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A California company says its experimental blood test was able to detect many types of cancer at an early stage and gave very few false alarms in a study that included people with and without the disease.

Many companies are trying to develop early detection “liquid biopsy” tests that capture bits of DNA that cancer cells shed into blood.

Grail’s new results are from 2,300 people. The test detected 55% of known cancers and gave false alarms for 1%. It also accurately suggested where the cancer may be about 90% of the time.

FILE - In this Tuesday, April 28, 2015 file photo, a patient has her blood drawn at a hospital in Philadelphia to monitor her cancer treatment. Companies are trying to develop blood tests that can look for signs of many types of cancer at once. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, April 28, 2015 file photo, a patient has her blood drawn at a hospital in Philadelphia to monitor her cancer treatment. Companies are trying to develop blood tests that can look for signs of many types of cancer at once. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma, File)

The company gave results in news release Friday and will report them Saturday at a conference in Chicago. They have not been published or reviewed by other scientists.

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