Single DNA test to identify 18 early cancers developed by US researchers

LONDON, Jan 10: A new DNA test can analyse proteins in the blood and can help detect 18 different kinds of early-stage cancers across main organs in the human body.

Early detection of cancer can improve chances of successful treatment and survival. US researchers have come up with a DNA test that can identify 18 types of early-stage cancers covering all major human organs accurately, reported The Guardian.

Early-stage cancers are difficult to detect. Lab tests for blood, urine, and other body fluids may not be a full-proof way to detect cancer and have to be followed with biopsies and imaging. This multi-screening test for early cancer detection can prove to be a gamechanger, easing cancer treatment and ensuring higher survival rates among cancer patients.

The new DNA test can analyse proteins in the blood and can help detect 18 different kinds of early-stage cancers across main organs in the human body. Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. While blood proteins have been used earlier, the accuracy and specificity of the test outperforms previous ones says the team from the US biotech firm Novelna that has been working on it.

"This finding is the foundation for a multi-cancer screening test for the early detection of 18 solid tumours that cover all major human organs of origin for such cancers at the earliest stage of their development with high accuracy," the research team told journal BMJ Oncology.

“This could re-shape screening guidelines, making this plasma test a standard part of routine check-ups. These findings pave the way for a cost-effective, highly accurate, multi-cancer screening test that can be implemented on a population-wide scale," they added.

The team took blood plasma samples from 440 people that were diagnosed with 18 different types of cancer and from 44 healthy blood donors. The researchers could identify the proteins that signalled early-stage cancers accurately.

“At stage I (the earliest cancer stage) and at the specificity of 99%, our panels were able to identify 93% of cancers among males and 84% of cancers among females," they said.

“Our sex-specific localisation panels consisted of 150 proteins and were able to identify the tissue of origin of most cancers in more than 80% of cases," the researchers added.

The test is significant in a way that it can help diagnose pre-cancerous and early-stage cancer before a tumour could do significant damage.

The research team, however, said due to the smaller size of samples, more studies were needed to establish effectiveness of the test.

As War Rages, WHO Says Gaza Population In 'Grave Peril'

GENEVA, Dec 28: The population of Gaza is in "grave peril", the head of the World Health Organization warned Wednesday, citing acute hunger and desperation throughout the war-torn Palestinian territory.

The WHO said it delivered supplies to two hospitals on Tuesday, with only 15 out of 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip functioning with any capacity at all.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on the international community to take "urgent steps to alleviate the grave peril facing the population of Gaza and jeopardising the ability of humanitarian workers to help people with terrible injuries, acute hunger, and at severe risk of disease".

In a statement, the WHO said its staff reported that "hungry people again stopped our convoys today in the hope of finding food".

"WHO's ability to supply medicines, medical supplies, and fuel to hospitals is being increasingly constrained by the hunger and desperation of people en route to, and within, hospitals we reach."

The bloodiest-ever Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 and killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

They took 250 hostages, of whom 129 remain inside Gaza, according to Israeli officials, in the worst attack in the country's history.

Israel launched extensive aerial bombardment and a siege followed by a ground invasion. The campaign has killed at least 21,110 people, mostly women and children, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.

"The safety of our staff and continuity of operations depends on more food arriving in all of Gaza, immediately," Tedros said.

Last week's United Nations Security Council resolution called for the "safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale" -- but did not call for an immediate end to fighting.

Tedros said the resolution "appeared to provide hope of an improvement in humanitarian aid distribution within Gaza.

"However, based on WHO eyewitness accounts on the ground, the resolution is tragically yet to have an impact.

"What we urgently need, right now, is a ceasefire to spare civilians from further violence and begin the long road towards reconstruction and peace."

WHO teams visited two hospitals on Tuesday -- Al-Shifa in the north and Al-Amal Palestine Red Crescent Society in the south -- to deliver supplies and assess the needs on the ground.

It said a reported 50,000 people were seeking refuge at Al-Shifa, with 14,000 sheltering at Al-Amal.

"At Al-Amal, colleagues saw the aftermath of recent strikes that disabled the hospital's radio tower and impacted the central ambulance dispatch system for the entire Khan Yunis area affecting more than 1.5 million people," the WHO said.

Only five of its nine ambulances are still operational, while WHO staff said it was "impossible" to walk through the hospital "without stepping over patients and those seeking refuge".

While transiting across Gaza, WHO staff saw "tens of thousands of people" on the move, on foot, on donkeys or in cars.

"WHO is extremely concerned this fresh displacement of people will further strain health facilities in the south, which are already struggling," said Rik Peeperkorn, the UN health agency's representative in the Palestinian territories.

"This forced mass movement of people will also lead to more overcrowding, increased risk of infectious diseases, and make it even harder to deliver humanitarian aid."

According to the latest WHO assessments, Gaza has 13 partially functioning hospitals, two minimally functioning ones, and 21 that are not functioning at all.