Blood Test Detects Multiple Types of Cancer

A new blood test uses next-generation sequencing technology to probe DNA for tiny chemical tags (methylation) that influence whether genes are active or inactive. When applied to nearly 3,600 blood samples — some from patients with cancer and some from people who had not been diagnosed with cancer at the time of the blood draw — the test successfully picked up a cancer signal from the cancer patient samples and correctly identified the tissue from where the cancer began (the tissue of origin). The test’s specificity — its ability to return a positive result only when cancer is actually present — was high, as was its ability to pinpoint the organ or tissue of origin.