MEDIA excitement over a simple blood test for cancer is premature, experts
warned this week.
The test, developed in Tustin, California, by a company called AMDL, was
hailed by the British media as the 鈥渉oly grail鈥� for early detection of 13 common
types of cancer. The device is on sale in the US. The company is now seeking
approval from European authorities.
But Muir Gray, director of the National Health Service鈥檚 National Screening
Committee, says it is far too early to say whether the US-designed blood
test will save lives.
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鈥淚t could save thousands of lives, but I鈥檝e got an open mind about it,鈥� he
told 快猫短视频.
According to AMDL, the test detects breakdown products from most common
tumours, including those of the lung, breast and colon. 鈥淲e can tell you鈥檝e got
cancer, but not where it is,鈥� says Gary Dreher, AMDL鈥檚 chief executive
officer.
AMDL tried out the kit on patients in Chile, Canada, China, Turkey and
Taiwan. The main results, published two years ago in The Journal of
Immunoassay (vol 19, p 63), show that the $100 test will on average
correctly detect any of the 13 cancers in 84 out of 100 tests. This 鈥渉it rate鈥�
compares well with accepted cancer tests. The company admits, though, on its own
website (www.amdl.com) that the test can give false positives.
Cancer charities also attacked the media hype over the test. 鈥淚t鈥檚
ridiculous,鈥� says Mary Berrington of the Cancer Research Campaign. 鈥淲e would
welcome a test that could reliably test for cancers. But they鈥檝e not shown this
particular test is sufficiently sensitive or reliable.鈥�
The key issue, according to Gray, is not just accuracy, but whether the test
can genuinely save lives. He is planning to commission researchers, probably at
Britain鈥檚 Medical Research Council, to evaluate the lifesaving potential of the
test for each of the 13 cancers.