The Jewish scientist who led a study into what could be a revolutionary new method of diagnosing cancer has said his “ultimate vision” is to develop a test that will make identifying the disease as easy as detecting high cholesterol.
Joshua Cohen, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, headed the team that developed CancerSEEK, a test for eight types of cancer using a simple blood sample.
The test registers levels of cancer proteins and checks for gene mutations. It can be used to diagnose lung, breast and colorectal cancers, which are responsible for over 60 per cent of deaths from the disease in the US. Five of the eight types of cancer currently have no screening test at all.
Rather than an invasive procedure, the new test can be done via blood sample. And the cost of the test – around $500 – is around the same as a test for a single one of those cancers costs now.
