Germans develop breast cancer blood test

https://www.dw.com/en/germans-develop-breast-cancer-blood-test/a-47612518

Germans develop breast cancer blood test

Date 21.02.2019

Medical researchers at the Heidelberg University Hospital in southern Germany say they have developed a new blood test that can reliably pick up whether a patient has breast cancer. The test, called Heiscreen, can detect cancer in the blood even before it becomes visible to current scanning technology, Professor Christof Sohn, who led the research, told the Bild daily.
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The blood test had a hit rate of 75 percent in a recent study of 500 breast cancer patients, but accuracy increased among women under 50. "The biggest advantage of the blood test is that it reacts very sensitively, especially in women under 50 where the accuracy is 86 percent," Professor Sohn said.

The test is as reliable as a mammogram, but costs less and comes without exposure to radiation, he added. The procedure could also be used to detect ovarian cancer.
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