A Cheap and Easy Blood Test Could Catch Cancer Early

A simple-to-take test that tells if you have a tumor lurking, and even where it is in your body, is a lot closer to reality--and may cost only $500. The new test, developed at Johns Hopkins University, looks for signs of eight common types of cancer. It requires only a blood sample and may prove inexpensive enough for doctors to give during a routine physical. "The idea is this test would make its way into the public and we could set up screening centers," says Nickolas Papadopoulos, one of the Johns Hopkins researchers behind the test. "That's why it has to be cheap and noninvasive."