Re:Blood Test That Spots Tumor-Derived DNA in Early-Stage Ca...
by ziggzagg on Thursday August 17, 2017 @09:56PM
(#15042872)
When this test has a near 100% success rate, how does it help the patients? Can it really prevent cancer?
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Re:Blood Test That Spots Tumor-Derived DNA in Early-Stage Ca...
by rbobby on Thursday August 17, 2017 @10:24PM
(#15042997)
> Can it really prevent cancer?
No.
What this is, is a test to detect cancer. The cool thing is that it should detect various cancers early (even before symptoms are showing).
The earlier cancer is detected the sooner a patient can start treatment. And the earlier treatment starts the better the odds of surviving.
And as a blood test this could end up being a standard part of an annual checkup. Especially for patients at greater risk (eg. men over N years, smokers, etc).