New Test for Early Cancer Detection

Darrell Miller

10/18/05

Date: October 18, 2005 10:17 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: New Test for Early Cancer Detection

A new test for early cancer detection

Researchers out of Johns Hopkins University believe they may have found a new method of testing for cancerous growths that allows for much earlier detection. The new method of testing saliva and urine does not work for all cancers but would allow doctors to check for DNA abnormalities in these fluids. If these tests prove viable, they would allow for cancer detection years before symptoms appear.

Tests on patients suffering from cancers of the lung, voice box, mouth, throat and bladder showed 100 percent sensitivity to abnormal DNA particles. Researchers say that a mutation in the tumor guaranteed a detection in the bodily fluid.

The test works by detecting DNA strands that have been dumped by the tumor into the bloodstream and excreted by the body. These mutated DNA strands lead to dysfunctional cell division and give rise to tumor development and growth. In order to further test their theory, researchers tested a urine sample of the late U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey taken nine years before he was diagnosed with urinary cancer. The test showed the presence of DNA mutations.

Researchers are optimistic that these studies can push cancer detection up two, four or more years from its current position. New tests are being developed that search for more numerous DNA strands and are 200 times more sensitive than the original test. Major clinical research for these tests will begin next year.

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