Dr Bollmann, Skin Care Specialist, Anti-Aging Expert
Is there a new blood test for the early detection of cancer? And if so, what are the implications.
The "lymphocyte genome sensitivity" (LGS) test can predict if a person has or is at risk for cancer, say researchers.
Professor Diana Anderson, of the University of Bradford (UK), and colleagues took blood samples from a group of people that included healthy individuals, cancer patients and people believed to be at increased risk of developing cancer.
The results of the study imply that people with cancer have DNA that is more easily damaged by ultraviolet light (UVA) than cancer-free people.
The LGS test was used to examine blood samples from cancer patients with melanoma, colon cancer and lung cancer, and all gave the same result. "The test could allow earlier cancer detection, so helping to save peoples' lives," said Professor Anderson.
Obviously, more studies are necessary before we can all jump on this bandwagon. But if proven true, are more people tested positive for the LGS test going to worry about getting cancer eventually, and will the emotional risks of this test outweigh the benefits. Do we really want to know if we are more at risk to develop cancer? And what would be the testing protocol? Would we all get this test, and then be evaluated yearly for various cancers?
