A new blood test that instantly detects three types of cancer with the help of artificial intelligence raises hopes. Chinese scientists tested the test on healthy people and patients diagnosed with pancreatic, stomach or colon cancer. The test was able to identify patients within minutes with success rates ranging from 82% to 100%. According to a study published in the journal Nature Sustainability and republished by ERT, the new tool uses machine learning – a type of artificial intelligence – to analyze metabolic byproducts (metabolites) in blood samples. These metabolites, present in the liquid part of the blood, are seen as biomarkers that can potentially indicate the presence of cancer. Screening for these blood biomarkers has been suggested as a possible way to diagnose cancer in the early stages of the disease, when survival rates are higher and patients may not have telltale symptoms. Despite being the deadliest cancers in the world, pancreatic, colon and stomach cancers currently lack stand-alone blood tests that are accurate enough. Therefore, doctors usually rely on imaging or surgical procedures to detect cancerous tissue. According to the researchers, the new test requires less than 0.05 milliliters of blood to diagnose these types of cancer. Compared to liquid blood, dried serum can be “collected, stored and transported at a much lower cost and with simpler equipment,” says Dr. Chaoyuan Kuang, assistant professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and oncologist at Montefiore Health System , who was not involved in the study. However, he stressed that it will take a few years before the test is fully tested and integrated into doctors’ diagnostic tools. The researchers believe that, notes Giovanni D’Agata, president of the “Sportello dei Diritti”, if used in large cancer screening programs, their test could make a huge difference. Based on their models, they found that the new tool could reduce the estimated rate of undiagnosed pancreatic, stomach and colon cancers by about 20% to 50% when used for cancer screening in large populations in rural China. .
