Toshiba develops way to test for 13 cancers with 99% accuracy from single drop of blood

Toshiba Corp. has developed a technology to detect 13 types of cancer from a single drop of blood with 99 percent accuracy, the company announced Monday. Toshiba developed the diagnosis method together with the National Cancer Center Research Institute and Tokyo Medical University, and hopes to commercialize it in "several years" after starting a trial next year. The method could be used to promote treatment of cancers from an early stage, it said. The method is designed to examine the types and concentration of microRNA molecules secreted in blood from cancer cells. Toray Industries Inc. and other companies have also developed technologies to diagnose cancer using microRNA molecules from a blood sample.