Detecting Any Cancer with One Drop of Blood

     Cancer research is clearly at the head of science right now. It seems that everywhere we turn nowadays we hear of some new and upcoming treatment that could change the way we view cancer, so it can be hard to tell what's real and what isn't. When it comes to treating cancer, early detection is often the key to success. The earlier that treatment can begin, often the less intensive it has to be and the better the rates of remission. As we seek to find new treatments, research is often also looking into how to improve these early detection rates.
     In this article, a recent discovery is discussed. This article reports on a new use for a discovered heat shock protein that is a known hallmark of cancer, Hsp90. It states that scientists have now discovered a way in which to use the qualities of this protein to detect the presence of any cancer, and that therefore all that is needed is a single drop of blood. While this seems plausible in theory, it is not the case of the work being discussed. Luo Yongzhang and his team are working on using this protein, and blood samples in order to detect a specific kind of cancer, and to monitor this cancer's growth.
     As shown in this publication, Hsp90 is being looked into for use in specifically detecting liver cancers, but they are not discussing the use of it to detect any other types of cancer. The levels of the protein tend to correlate well with the size of liver tumors, again going back to its use in monitoring cancer. While it seems like a fairly similar conclusion to assume this new method can be used for detecting all cancers, it is rather detrimental and distributes false information. I think this was a genuine mistake as it can be rather confusing, but this information is misleading and could elicit some false hope in early detection methods of other cancers.

Posted by Alexandra McGuire (2)