Popular Science News | Simple Blood Test to Replace Cancer Biopsy

Popular Science News – one of the unpleasant procedures of cancer treatment is the need to perform surgery or a biopsy at regular intervals in order to determine whether the treatment is working. This means a long wait for the results which are seen as only a limited snapshot of the genetic mutations in the tumour.

Because DNA from a tumour is released into the bloodstream it is now possible to take a blood sample and immediately perform a blood test which analyses far more information than a biopsy did. Dr Nitzan Rosenfield, from Cancer Research UK’s Cambridge Research Institute, said: “This type of blood test has the potential to revolutionise the way we diagnose and treat cancer. The great advantage is that it can be used to identify cancer mutations without surgery or a biopsy, making it safer and cheaper.”

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