Unlike Pap smears, that have reduced deaths from cervical cancer, and colonoscopies that have cut colon cancer mortality, we lack a method to screen the masses for the leading cancer killer in both sexes – lung cancer. Caught early - in stage 1 - the 5-year survival rate for lung cancer is 60-80%. But, even in a country where we pride ourselves on the latest and greatest in medical breakthroughs, 40% of people are diagnosed when their lung cancer has already progressed to stage 4, a stage that carries a 5-year survival rate of less than 10%. That may soon change.
Celera Corporation in collaboration with researchers at the New York University Langone Medical Center, have been studying a simple blood test that may detect non-small cell lung cancer in the earliest stages. Their research adds to previous studies suggesting a blood test for lung cancer is on the horizon.
Over 100 individuals were studied using a test that checks for 9 different compounds (biomarkers) in the blood. People who had been diagnosed with stage 1 or stage 2 lung cancer were then compared with a group of smokers who did not have lung cancer, and people with lung diseases such as COPD but no evidence of lung cancer.
The test had a sensitivity of over 90% - meaning that it was accurate in picking up over 90% of the cancers. It also had a specificity of over 90%, meaning that the test was negative in the majority of people without cancer (there were few false positives). Specificity has been a problem in current screening methods for lung cancer, and has resulted in some controversy about CT screening for lung cancer. False positives can result in unnecessary testing and emotional turmoil.
Though sometimes a skeptic, I allowed myself to envision how the world of medicine would change if studies continue to support a blood test for lung cancer. It brought a smile to my face to think of the support that lung survivors could generate – if only their disease was found early. Unlike breast cancer survivors, who have a 5-year survival rate of 85% plus, the 5 year survival rate for lung cancer is only 15% due to late detection. To gather together, and rally support, lung cancer survivors need to live.
Photo: istockphoto.com
Source:
Celera. Press Release. Celera Presents Data Replicating its Immunodiagnostic Assay to Detect Lung Cancer from Blood Serum. Accessed 08/06/09.
