New Blood Test for Cancer Detection

The patented test has been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in diagnosing cancer in tissue sections and biopsies.

The study included 147 normal samples and 91 cancer samples, comprising 22 breast cancers, 31 stomach cancers, and 39 miscellaneous types of cancer (cervix, lung, head and neck, ovarian, and colon and rectal cancers). The test's sensitivity ranged from 84% for stomach cancers to 100% for breast cancer. In comparison, current cancer markers detect only 35-50% of breast cancer cases, said BioCurex, Inc. (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, USA), which developed the test. Called Histo-Recaf, the test identifies a cancer marker known as Recaf, which is found on malignant cells from a variety of cancer types but is practically absent in most normal or benign cells.

The test could be used to routinely screen people who go to a doctor for a checkup or for spotting a recurrence of cancer or a metastasis, said the company. "Now, we have to test more samples and other types of cancer before we can draw final conclusions. Also, the chemistry of the assay needs to be improved before it can be released commercially,” said Dr. Ricardo Moro-Vidal, president and CEO of BioCurex.




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