AI program could check blood for signs of lung cancer

Scientists have developed an artificial intelligence program that can screen people for lung cancer by analysing their blood for DNA mutations that drive the disease. The software is experimental and needs to be verified in a clinical trial, but doctors are hopeful that if it proves its worth at scale, it will boost lung cancer screening rates by making the procedure as simple as a routine blood test. The program works by examining free-floating DNA that circulates in the blood. The majority of this genetic detritus enters the bloodstream when harmless cells in the body break down and spill their molecular innards, but tumours also shed DNA as they form and grow larger. The UK has no national lung cancer screening programme, but is exploring an approach adopted in the US where people who are at high risk, such as older smokers and former smokers, can have low-dose chest X-rays to check their lungs for tumours.