Daijiworld Media Network - Melbourne
Melbourne, Jun 6: Scientists have identified a new “blood signature” that may predict a person's risk of developing lung cancer more than five years before diagnosis, raising hopes for earlier detection and preventive treatment.
The findings, published in the journal Cell, suggest that a simple blood test could help identify individuals at high risk of lung cancer even before symptoms appear, according to researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia.
The study analysed more than 48,000 blood samples and identified a 14-protein signature capable of predicting lung cancer risk within five years. The findings were validated across eight international datasets, including among non-smokers.
Researchers said the protein signature does not appear to originate from tumours themselves. Instead, it reflects changes in the lung's inflammatory environment that occur before cancer develops, indicating a pre-disease stage during which intervention may be possible.
The discovery could help doctors identify individuals who may benefit from preventive therapies before receiving a lung cancer diagnosis.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Existing screening programmes are largely limited to older adults with a history of smoking, leaving many cases undetected until the disease reaches advanced stages.
Clare Weeden, laboratory head at WEHI and a corresponding author of the study, said the findings could pave the way for broader and more effective screening strategies.
“In doing so, these findings bring us closer to a future where early intervention is possible, even before the cancer has a chance to develop,” Weeden said.
The research was conducted during her tenure at the Francis Crick Institute in the United Kingdom.
Charlie Swanton, clinical research director at the Francis Crick Institute, said the results support growing evidence that several age-related diseases may share a common pre-symptomatic inflammatory state.
According to Swanton, the newly identified blood signature could eventually help predict and prevent not only lung cancer but also other lung-related diseases.
Researchers said further studies will be required before the test can be introduced into routine clinical practice, but the findings represent a significant step towards earlier cancer prevention and detection.