does cancer show up in routine blood work
Is it possible to find out about the presence of cancer by performing routine tests and blood tests? What is the effect of routine blood tests on early detection of cancer? What is the importance of routine blood tests for cancer? If you are one of those people who have questions like the above questions in your mind and are looking for answers to them, we recommend that you read on.
Introduction
The word cancer is a word that most people are scared to hear. We must say that scientists have been able to access a variety of blood tests to diagnose cancers in their research and studies.
This test is used to detect the activation or inactivity of genes that can trigger cancer cells in some tissues in the body. Activation or activation of women with cancer who are detected and identified by a blood test and this test will be available to the public in the future.
Is it possible to diagnose cancers by having a blood test?
Generally speaking, blood tests are not able to tell a person exactly whether there is cancer or not. But they will definitely help the doctor to diagnose the cancer and type of it.
Certain things happen in cancer cells. For example, there are groups called methyl in cells that have different patterns in normal cells and cancer cells. Doctors and researchers say that abnormal patterns of methyl groups in different tissue cells can be a hallmark of cancer cells.
In this article, we want to focus more on the importance of a blood test for a diagnosis of cancer. But in general we must say that a simple and routine blood test alone can not diagnose or rule out cancer.
Diagnose cancer by giving a blood test
Researchers and doctors in the United States are studying a new blood test that they claim could determine the type of cancer in people. Researchers and doctors in the United States say they are using a special technology for this blood test. In their technology, the DNA of cells is determined and examined , And with the determination of the tissue cells of the body tissue according to the new technology used in the assessment tool, the blood sample is examined and methyl or in other words methyl groups attached to DNA is evaluated. If these methyl groups are abnormal, that is, abnormal patterns are observed in them, Doctors believe that, according to the pattern found in methyl DNA groups, the causative and initiating genes of some cancers are active or inactive. One of the advantages of these tests is the early and timely detection of cancers, but not all cancers.
What was the set of experiments and research like?
In the previous section, we mentioned that researchers at a reputable institute in the United States have claimed to have discovered a kind of experiment based on the technology of evaluating methyl DNA groups of tissue cells in the body Which can determine the activation or inactivation of genes that cause certain cancers for physicians. Now we want to talk about how doctors got to this conclusion.
Based on experiments and research, the above result has been obtained. The routine of this study was that the research team took three thousand six hundred blood samples from three thousand six hundred different people and tested them, and studies have shown that some people have cancer without knowing it.
This test has the ability to determine which tissue the cancer originated from, and it can also determine what symptoms and manifestations it may have.
The head of this large research says that according to their studies, the experiments are based on the determination of methyl groups, and this method is much more accurate, valid and better than the old experiments.
It is said that this test is much more sensitive and accurate in identifying the type of cancer and the location of damaged tissue in infected people.
Which cancers can be detected by DNA methylation testing?
The head of a large study conducted in the United States says that the test discovered by this group is able to detect more than twenty-nine cancers with a single blood test.
These cancers include the following:
- Breast cancers
- Esophageal cancer
- gastric cancer
- Lung cancers and tumors
- Ovarian tumor
- Pancreas
- Colon cancer
- Gallbladder cancer
- And tumors in the head and neck
"If we can develop this test, we will be able to identify cancers from the beginning and in the very early stages in the affected person, and start effective treatments for them in the very first phase," says the study leader.
How do blood tests show signs of cancer?
In this section, we want to discuss one of the most common methods that can detect the possibility of a malignancy in a particular organ through a blood test, and these are tests called tumor markers.
Tumor markers are chemical compounds that are simply produced by certain cells, including malignant and cancerous cells, and secreted into the bloodstream. These compounds can be evaluated and measured in the blood. It should be noted that tumor markers can also be secreted by some normal cells in the body. Only in some cases can the use of these tumor markers be a definitive tool for identifying and diagnosing a cancer.
Today, the best way to evaluate and interpret tumor markers for cancers has not been determined and is still being studied.
Today, it is said that some tumors, the use of tumor markers to diagnose them has been discussed and even questioned, and we have a tumor marker called CA125, which is actually abbreviated to the term cancer antigen number one hundred and twenty-five.
This tumor marker has been used to diagnose ovarian tumors, and the measurement of this protein helps to better identify ovarian masses. So the above test is a blood test to diagnose ovarian cancer, but this test is not strong enough to diagnose ovarian cancer that can be considered for ovarian tumor screening. We should note that menstruation and uterine fibroids can cause changes in this tumor marker and even increase it to the level of cancer. Also, anything that causes inflammation in the abdominal space can increase this protein. Tests such as alpha fetoprotein and beta-HCG and other markers may also be used to examine non-specific ovarian masses.
What are circulatory tumor cell tests like?
This method is a new and innovative method that is used to identify tumors in which the original tumor has left its original location and entered the bloodstream. The use of circulatory tumor tests can be particularly effective in diagnosing breast cancer.
Circulatory tumor cell tests are one of the most new methods currently being evaluated in clinical trials but have not yet been used as routine tests for breast cancer.
This new technology, which is based on DNA modifications, is known for binding methyl groups The methyl group is a chemical unit that binds to DNA and activates and inactivates genes.
Scientists and researchers say that in many cases, if the patterns of these methyls are tracked and the follow-up reveals that the patterns of these methyls are abnormal, it helps to diagnose cancer. In this study, doctors extracted DNA that first binds to cells and then enters the bloodstream after cell death, and examined it in 3,500 people.
How does the new test work?
In this experiment, genetic changes at the molecular chemical level in tumors are detected and evaluated. In fact, the test evaluates the blood cells of cancer cells that have been injected into the bloodstream.
More than 50 people with early-stage ovarian and colon cancer were identified with the test.
"If we can diagnose cancer early and before it develops and spreads clinically, we can save the lives of those who die," say researchers.
The recording of this blood test still needs further research, but the results to date are promising, and the research team is working to design these tests so that they can make an accurate diagnosis in the early stages of cancer. This test will be a simple blood test to detect cancer
What do researchers think about blood tests for cancer?
"Cancer cells grow much faster than normal, healthy cells in the body, and they die much faster than normal cells" say researchers and administrators. . When the cells are destroyed, the DNA will enter the bloodstream. By isolating these DNA, which is done through a simple blood sampling and evaluation of the methyls attached to the DNA, we can detect cancer very early and we do not have to wait any longer. Until the cancer spreads and its symptoms appear.
Benefits of early cancer screening test
Cancer is detected in the early stages of the disease by testing.
This is done with a simple blood test. The person is not harmed, is not invasive, has no radiation or device involved, just takes a sample of the person and is extracted from the blood by digital technology. Since most of the body is made up of healthy cells, most of the DNA is from healthy cells and there is only a small fraction of cancer cells in it.
A blood test called cancer seek
A cancer researcher says that cancer can be treated if it is detected in the early stages. With a blood test called a consortium or cancer follow-up, we will be able to detect the presence of cancer in the patient, In fact, this test looks at both cells and proteins and can detect several types of tumors. This test is only available to people who have not yet shown any signs of cancer in their body. In fact, one of the special features of this test is the early detection of tumors before clinical manifestations, and another feature is that it determines the exact location of cancer in the body.
This research has been tested on more than a thousand patients and has had more than 70% correct results and only seven reports have been incorrect.
This method can reduce the cost of preventive methods and detect cancers such as lung, stomach, prostate, colon, breast and uterine cancers in the first stage, and even save lives with early diagnosis.
Types of tests to diagnose cancer
Finally, we want to introduce you to the types of tests that can be used to diagnose cancer. The collected samples are studied and the cancer cells, proteins and other chemical compounds in it show that the cancer has developed. The following are examples of these tests.
- Test number one for complete blood cell count or CBC
This blood test is very common. It counts the different types of blood cells that are present in the blood sample. It evaluates and reports the abnormal high or low number of cells and the abnormal shape of blood cells and is very effective in diagnosing different types of blood cancers and lymphatic diseases.
- Urine Cytology Test No. 2 Urine Cytology
A urine sample is taken from a person, examined under a microscope to identify tumor cells. This method is used in cancers of the kidney, bladder and uterus.
- Evaluation of proteins in the blood
Blood proteins, specific proteins in the immune system called immunoglobulins, are evaluated by electrophoresis to detect abnormalities.
This test is very useful in patients with multiple myeloma
- Tumor markers
In fact, they are chemical markers of tumors that are made by tumor cells and secreted into the blood, but it should be noted that these tumor markers may also be produced by normal cells in the body and in non-cancerous cases we may encounter high levels of them. It is debatable. Examples of this tumor markers are:
- Prostate specific antigen PSA
- Cancer Antigen No. One Hundred and Twenty-Five CA125 for Ovarian Tumors
- Calcitonin for medullary thyroid carcinoma
- Alpha fetoprotein for a variety of liver and ovarian tumors
Is it possible to diagnose breast cancer using a blood test?
Breast cancer is one of the most common tumors and cancers among women. Of course, men also get this cancer, but it is less common than women.
Breast cancer can grow for years and show no symptoms, and it is in these cases that we can diagnose cancer in the very early stages with a new and simple blood test. Cancer cells produce proteins in the body.
In fact, proteins cause the body and the immune system to make antibodies that are against them. These antibodies are called autoantibodies. This test is based on the immune system's response to these proteins and thus detects cancer. British researchers testing this test And these antigens and antibodies are said to be the best options that can be detected through a blood test to determine the type of cancer.
Concluding remarks
Most of the methods mentioned above, other than the conventional methods such as urinary cytology or complete blood cell count or electrophoresis of blood immunoglobulins, are methods that They are mostly in the research and evaluation phase. It is true that these tests will not work for all cancers, but if they are proven to have significant diagnostic ability and used routinely, they can identify most cancers that are still unknown.
So far, many tests have been used to diagnose cancer, but none have been able to assess the person in the early stages. Diagnosis with these new tests can be very early, so cancer will be diagnosed early and treatment will be easier and more successful.
Blood tests can detect cancers from one to three stages, such as liver cell carcinoma, some normal ovarian cancers and gastric carcinoma, cancers of the pancreas, esophagus, colon, breast and lung.