Researchers develop 'painless, non invasive' breast cancer blood test

PanARMENIAN.Net - German researchers have developed a blood test that could detect breast cancer cells in patients, euronews reports.

Researchers at the University Women's Hospital, a branch of Heidelberg University Hospital, said on Thursday that the new method of 'liquid biopsy" is “non-invasive” and has already detected 15 different types of breast cancer cells in patients.

Blood tests can also be used to detect small tumours, researchers added.

“The blood test developed by our team of researchers offers a new and revolutionary opportunity to detect cancer in the breast quickly and non-invasively using biomarkers in the blood,” said Christof Sohn, managing medical director of the University Women’s Hospital.

“The new blood-based procedure is much less of a burden on women since it isn’t painful and doesn’t involve exposure to radiation,” said Sarah Schott, head of familial cancers at the hs.

The blood test requires only a few millilitres of blood and can be performed at any laboratory.

Heidelberg University Hospital said the test is particularly beneficial for women under the age of 50 and those with a family history of breast cancer.

Over 900 women were studied using the new method, of whom 500 had breast cancer and 400 were healthy patients.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer to affect women in German, with around 70,000 women developing breast cancer last year.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) cancer is the second most frequent cause of death in Europe, with more than 3.7 million new cases and 1.9 million deaths each year.