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A comment on Blood test that finds 50 types of cancer is accurate enough to be rolled out. Parent comment

Re:Blood test that finds 50 types of cancer is accurate enou... by refurb on Friday June 25, 2021 @07:43AM (#27629504)
Yup. Let’s say the test shows “very likely” for pancreatic cancer.

Now you do imaging. Ok, nothing there? Now what? Biopsy? That’s general anesthesia now and costly (for the patient or govt). Biopsy is negative. Now what? Start chemo? Watch and wait? For how long? Do a biopsy every 6 months?

None of these tests are 100% accurate. If broadly used, a false positive of 0.1% will result in tens of thousands getting unnecessary testing.

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Re:Blood test that finds 50 types of cancer is accurate enou... by kokey on Friday June 25, 2021 @08:16AM (#27629778)
I think for pancreatic cancer early detection just means it gives you more time to enjoy a slightly longer bucket list. For bowel cancers however, this could potentially buy many extra years since it's currently difficult to detect early.
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Re:Blood test that finds 50 types of cancer is accurate enou... by refurb on Friday June 25, 2021 @08:42AM (#27630024)
One reason why pancreatic is so fatal is it doesn’t tend to get diagnosed until quite late, so this test could help here. But really early cancer (no identified mass) is more of a watch and wait thing.
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Re:Blood test that finds 50 types of cancer is accurate enou... by postingawayonhn on Friday June 25, 2021 @10:02AM (#27630887)
> Now you do imaging. Ok, nothing there? Now what?

Put the patient on a more frequent screening schedule (blood tests and imaging) to pick up any growth.

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Re:Blood test that finds 50 types of cancer is accurate enou... by refurb on Friday June 25, 2021 @08:50PM (#27638006)
Ok, now multiply this scenario by thousands. This sounds like a great way to bust your healthcare budget.
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Re:Blood test that finds 50 types of cancer is accurate enou... by someguydave on Friday June 25, 2021 @08:11AM (#27629731)
exactly, this screening is an invitation for overtreatment.
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