Can a blood test detect breast cancer?

Your doctor may order blood tests for cancer/tumor markers to detect cancer activity in the body. Proteins and circulating tumor cells are two types of markers that can be measured. A cancer tumor often produces a specific protein in the blood that serves as a marker for the cancer. read more

The test detected stage 1 or 2 colon, breast, lung or ovarian cancers between 59 percent and 71 percent of the time when assessing 200 patients previously diagnosed with cancer, researchers found. "If we are able to detect cancer earlier, our chances of saving lives would be much higher," Velculescu said. read more

A simple blood test can accurately detect the beginning stages of two common cancers long before symptoms appear, scientists claim. An initial study found the test had a 95 per cent success rate in detecting cancer in participants, including those with breast cancer in stages 0 and 1 and those with lung cancer in stages 1 and 2. read more