A team of researchers from Inserm (Inserm Unit 1081), led by Dr. Paul Hofman, announces a major breakthrough in the early detection of lung cancer.

The results of their latest study were published in Plos One..

Scientists say they are getting closer to developing highly sensitive tests to detect circulating cancer cells.

Such a test can detect a tumor for several months (and sometimes even years).! ) before the tumor becomes visible on the tomogram.

Early diagnosis of lung cancer can give doctors time to intervene and greatly improve the chances of patients.

Animal studies show that in lung cancers, individual cancer cells enter the bloodstream already at the earliest stages of the disease.. This happens long before the tumor can be detected with the most advanced imaging tools, including CT and MRI..

The ability to identify such cells is considered an important goal in the war against cancer, as it will greatly expand the possibilities of treatment.. There are very few cancer cells circulating in the blood, they are heterogeneous and quite fragile, so it is difficult to isolate them without loss and error..

A team of scientists led by Dr. Hoffmann used a modified blood test developed by their French colleagues, which can isolate tumor cells without loss or damage..

The scientists recruited a group of 245 healthy people, including 168 people with an increased risk of lung cancer suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). All participants systematically had blood tests and CT scans. New analysis identified 5 patients (3%) who developed lung cancer but did not yet show signs of disease on CT.

In these 5 patients, lung nodules became noticeable only 1-4 years after a positive blood test.. All this time, the doctors carefully observed them, and immediately after the detection of tumors on CT, the patients were operated on, the diagnosis was confirmed histologically..

Follow-up of all 5 patients for a year after surgery showed no signs of cancer. This allows us to hope that the disease was completely cured in all five cases at a very early stage..

Follow-up for a year of participants whose blood tests were negative also showed no signs of cancer.. This means that the new test never gave an error.. The control group remained healthy.

“Thus, a new method for isolating and identifying circulating cancer cells could be a real breakthrough in the early detection of lung cancer.. In the future, it will play a crucial role in early surgical intervention, enabling early and maximally complete eradication of the primary tumor,” the researchers concluded..

In the meantime, lung cancer is one of the most dangerous types of cancer.. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the 1-year survival rate for patients with this diagnosis is 44%, and the 5-year survival rate is only 16%.. With modern treatments used in the USA.

Only 15% of lung cancers are diagnosed at an early stage when the tumor is located in the lungs. In other cases, the cancer goes beyond the organ, so the treatment is ineffective.. Early detection of cancer can simultaneously improve the chances of patients and reduce health care costs.. COPD is now considered the #3 cause of death in the US, with many cases of COPD being caused by smoking..

medbe. en.