Blood test shows promise for detecting the deadliest cancers early

A blood test developed and checked using blood samples from 4000 people can accurately detect more than 50 cancer types, often before any symptoms appear. It was most accurate at identifying 12 especially dangerous types, including pancreatic cancers that are usually diagnosed only at a very late stage. Many groups around the world are trying to develop blood tests for cancer, often referred to as "liquid biopsies". Michael Seiden at US Oncology, a company involved in cancer care, and his team explored several ways of testing for cancer based on sequencing the DNA that dying cells release into the bloodstream. The team found that looking at methylation patterns at around a million sites was the most promising.