A simple blood test could help to detect breast cancer as much as two years before traditional diagnosis methods, researchers said. The test would focus on six types of proteins whose levels might be higher or lower in the two years preceding diagnosis.
The researchers said their findings, presented at the 13th European Breast Cancer Conference, could “form the basis of blood testing for people with a genetic predisposition or a family history of breast cancer” to ensure early diagnosis and treatment. Sophie Hagenaars, from Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands, said: “These proteins could form the basis for a blood test for early detection of breast cancer in women at a higher risk."
The study, called Trial Early Serum Test Breast (TESTBREAST), looked at 1,174 women in the Netherlands who were at a high risk of breast cancer. This could be either because of family history or because they carry gene variants associated with a higher risk.
The women have been attending regular breast screenings and giving blood samples throughout the 10 years across which the study has been taking place. The researchers used a technique known as mass spectrometry to analyse the proteins in the blood samples.
An analysis of 30 blood samples – taken over time from three women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and three women who have not – showed changes in the levels of a set of six proteins.
Ms Hagenaars said: "It’s important to note that we found more variation in the protein levels in the blood samples between women, compared to over time within the same woman who developed breast cancer. This shows that testing should probably be based both on proteins that differ between women with and without breast cancer and on proteins that alter in an individual person over time.”
The researchers plan to investigate their findings with a larger cohort as part of their TESTBREAST study.
Ms Hagenaars said: “If further research validates our findings, this testing could be used as an add-on to existing screening techniques. Blood tests are relatively simple and not particularly painful for most people, so people could be offered screening as often as needed.”
