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A Step Toward a Universal Cancer Blood Test (wired.com)
7 points by michael_michael on Nov 29, 2012 | hide | past | favorite | 3 comments


I don't think a blood test alone it good enough.

By the time cancer is getting close to/effecting blood, you're pretty far along for some cancers.


This is not just about cancers that affect the blood. From the article:

    By sequencing the abnormal DNA that a tumor releases into a person’s
    bloodstream, researchers are now one step closer to a universal cancer
    test. Although the technique is now only sensitive enough to detect
    advanced cancers, that may be a matter of money: As sequencing costs
    decrease, the developers of the method say, the test could eventually
    pick up early tumors as well.


>By sequencing the abnormal DNA that a tumor releases into a person’s bloodstream.

I didn't say just ones that effect the blood. Getting to a blood supply is pretty bad too, makes it so the tumor can grow more. Many non-blood cancers can spread via the blood, which is also very bad.




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