Researchers have developed a new way to diagnose cancer with greater accuracy before tumors are detected by using imaging instead of testing for tumor cell DNA in the blood.
Patients with very early stages of cancer have DNA from tumor cells circulating in their blood long before an actual tumor develops, researchers say, which may allow for earlier treatment of the disease. Tumor cell molecules can be discovered in a regular blood sample before a tumor is visible via imaging such as tomography, X-ray, ultrasound or MRI.