UCLA researchers have created a simple, relatively inexpensive blood test that showed promise in early studies for detecting several types of cancer, multiple liver diseases, and signs of organ problems at the same time. The approach works by examining fragments of DNA that circulate naturally in the bloodstream.
Described in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the test could eventually provide a more affordable way to detect disease earlier while also giving doctors a broader picture of a person's health.
"Early detection is crucial," said Dr. Jasmine Zhou, the study's senior author, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and investigator at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. "Survival rates are far higher when cancers are caught before they spread. If you detect cancer at stage one, outcomes are dramatically better than at stage four."
Reading Disease Signals in Blood
The new technique, known as MethylScan, analyzes cell-free DNA (cfDNA), small pieces of genetic material that enter the bloodstream as cells die. Since cells throughout the body release DNA into the blood, these fragments can contain molecular clues about the health of many different organs.
