Test can recognize nine most common types of cancer

A test from a research group formed of scientists at System Biologie AG in Wollerau in the canton of Schwyz and the Austrian company HealthBiocare GmbH can identify the nine most common types of cancer. According to a press release, the aim of their research is to discover a more accurate, simpler, minimally invasive pan-cancer screening test. It could be used routinely in the context of annual follow-up examinations. Their study has now been published on the open Basel-based research platform MDPI.

There are still no authorized clinical tests for broader cancer prevention in the population. According to the information provided, most research to date has only focused on one type of biomarker and cancer.

Now the researchers have developed a classification model that can differentiate between healthy people and those with solid tumors with 95.4 percent accuracy, 97.9 percent sensitivity, and 80 percent specificity. To do so, they combined DNA mutations with epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation and miRNAs.

According to the press release, the study group now hopes to fully validate the clinical benefit of this test and determine whether the original tissue could be identified. They are planning to conduct a large prospective cohort study to do so.