A blood test for cancer? Don’t hold your breath.
Submitted by Dr.Kattlove’s Cancer Blog
I thought of this when I read a paper that reviewed 93 articles that looked at the success rate of blood tests to detect colorectal cancer. So far no breakthroughs.
We’ve been looking for a blood test to find cancer early for many years. And, many have been found that will spot different types of cancer, but almost never in its earlier stages. The first test that gained wide use was the CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen). CEA is a protein made in excessive amounts by the cancer cell. At first, it was found to be elevated in the blood of people with widespread colorectal cancer. But then researchers learned that its blood level can be high in people with many other types of cancers.
[?]