New 'Universal' Blood Test May Detect All Types of Cancer

There could be a new way to detect all types of cancers in the future. Scientists have created a simple blood test that can be used to diagnose whether or not a person has cancer.

The new test involves looking at white blood cells and measuring the damage caused to their DNA when subjected to different intensities of ultraviolet light (UVA), which can damage DNA. Because white blood cells are part of the body's natural defense system, they're under stress when combating cancer. This means that they're more likely to experience damage when exposed to UVA light.

In all, the researchers looked at blood samples taken from 208 individuals. A total of 94 healthy individuals were included along with 114 samples that were collected from patients referred to specialist clinics prior to diagnosis and treatment. The scientists coded, anonymized and randomized the samples before exposing them through UVA light through five different depths of agar.

In the end, the researchers saw that the UVA light caused damage in the form of DNA being pulled in an electric field towards the positive end of the field. This resulted in a comet-like tail.

"These early results completed on three different types of cancer and we accept that more research needs to be done; but these results so far are remarkable," said Diana Anderson, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Whilst the numbers of people we tested are, in epidemiological terms, quite small, in molecular epidemiological terms, the results are powerful. We've identified significant differences between the healthy volunteers, suspected cancer patients and confirmed cancer patients of mixed ages at a statistically significant level of P<0.001."

That said, future research still needed before this is used as a diagnostic tool. Yet it could be a huge boon when it comes to diagnosing cancer. Currently, a clinical trial is underway that will investigate the effectiveness of this new test.

The findings are published in The FASEB Journal.