Could stomach cancer be spotted early with a drop of blood? A Chinese team has an idea

Researchers have used AI to develop a simple blood test that can detect early-stage gastric cancer with nearly 90 per cent accuracy

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A simple blood test could soon be used for the early diagnosis of gastric cancer. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:00pm, 10 Aug 2024

Early detection of stomach cancer could soon be as easy as having a blood test, thanks to technology developed by Chinese scientists.

The simple test achieved nearly 90 per cent accuracy in identifying gastric cancer in a study, according to a paper published in international academic journal Cancer Science on July 22.

Gastric cancer is the world’s fifth most common cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths globally.

That mortality rate is affected in a large way by the lack of early detection. In China, more than 80 per cent of gastric cancer cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, and the five-year survival rate is below 30 per cent. But if it is detected early, the survival rate can exceed 90 per cent.

Currently, diagnosis relies mainly on endoscopies and serum markers. However, endoscopies are often uncomfortable for patients and carry the risk of complications, while serum markers only have a detection rate of about 20 per cent.

Addressing these challenges, researchers Wang Hongzhi and Nie Jinfu from the Hefei Cancer Hospital, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Sun Ruifang from the Shanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital, used AI to develop the non-invasive, pain-free screening method that does not require intubation or imaging and still maintains an accuracy rate of nearly 90 per cent.

This novel method detects cell-free DNA (cfDNA), which originates from both normal and tumour cells and circulates in the blood, released mainly through cell death and active secretion mechanisms. Tumour-derived cfDNA contains specific genetic mutations such as methylation changes, which are critical for early detection.