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A simple blood test that could act as a "crystal ball" to detect early signs of cancer could be tested on patients within two years.
Scientists have shown the test works in picking up signs of prostate cancer and say it could potentially also be used for other cancers ranging from breast to lung.
Although a range of teams around the world are developing tests for proteins that signal cancer is developing, a new approach is outlined today by scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre, Seattle.
They have found that scraps of genetic material - called microRNAs - that turn genes on and off are released by cancer cells to circulate in the blood, where they can be detected more easily than proteins.
Scientists have shown the test works in picking up signs of prostate cancer and say it could potentially also be used for other cancers ranging from breast to lung.
Although a range of teams around the world are developing tests for proteins that signal cancer is developing, a new approach is outlined today by scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre, Seattle.
They have found that scraps of genetic material - called microRNAs - that turn genes on and off are released by cancer cells to circulate in the blood, where they can be detected more easily than proteins.
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