This Blood Test Could Soon Detect Five Types Of Cancer In The Body

Every one of us has been touched in some way by the devastating effects of cancer. It's a disease that continues to plague both developed and under developed countries. The huge scope cancer's influence is hard to imagine, but it's estimated that over 1.6 million cases of the four major cancer types (breast, prostate, colon, and lung) were diagnosed in 2015 alone. That means in the year 2015 alone, more people were diagnosed with cancer than live in the city of Philadelphia.  

I will stop being a Debbie Downer starting NOW.  Luckily, scientists are working tirelessly to identify new ways to catch cancer in its earliest stages, when chemotherapy or surgical interventions can still prevent its spread in the body. To be honest, scientists are making HUGE strides toward early preventative tests.

One blood test in particular may make it possible to determine whether there are any of five different types of cancer in your body using ONE test.

At this point in cancer science, we can see cancer cells "crawling" through tumors...

We can see them with crisp detail at the single cell level...

This is a breast cancer cell.

And we can even map out the DNA of these cancer cells.

But finding a way to put cancer in its place has still been incredibly tough.

Hope does seem to be on the horizon though when it comes to easy, wide-reaching cancer-screening tests.  You won't believe how many of the major cancers that it may be able to detect.

A new blood test may soon be able to detect the presence of five major types of cancer. Which cancers can be caught?

Scientists have discovered a similar marker of gene expression in five common and deadly types of cancer. We don't yet know how to kill these cancers, or at least we don't know how to do it with perfect precision. Instead, we can now try to identify what they look like in the blood stream. That way, we can choose the appropriate and early course of action against whichever form of cancer we find.

Breast cancer.

The new DNA marker holds promise for identifying this type of cancer that will affect 1 in 8 women in their lifetime.

Lung cancer.

Another form of cancer that appear to be detected by these blood screening tests, this form of cancer will kill approximately 158,000 people in the United States in 2016.

Colon cancer.

US President Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1985, but luckily survived after two feet of his colon was surgically removed. The American Cancer Society estimates that over 95,000 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer this year.

Stomach cancer.

This form of cancer has killed many notable people in history, including John Wayne, Mr. Rogers, and Napoleon Bonaparte.

Endometrial cancers. 

This type of cancer affects the lining in the uterus and will kill more than 10,000 women this year.  This type of cancer killed US President Barack Obama's mother, Ann Dunham.

Scientists were reportedly ecstatic about the discovery, as it provides a new way to scan your blood for certain cancers. 

Biologist Laura Elnitski at the US National Human Genome Research Institute led the research team that identified the gene that will be useful in developing preventative screening tests.  The research was published in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

Do you think about your friends and family and their health? Share to let them know about this groundbreaking new cancer test!

Main image via Digital90210

Collage image via The Guardian | Science Photo Library