Great discovery of British scientists! Blood proteins can predict cancer up to 7 years in advance

Groundbreaking research by Oxford University scientists reveals that proteins in the blood can predict cancer years in advance, offering new hope for early detection and prevention.
Blood proteins can predict cancer more than seven years in advance of diagnosis, new research suggests. Scientists from Oxford University analyzed blood samples from more than 44,000 people from the UK Biobank database, including more than 4,900 who later developed cancer.

The scientists compared proteins in those diagnosed with cancer and those not diagnosed, identifying 618 proteins associated with 19 types of cancer, including colon, lung, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and liver.

Their study, funded by Cancer Research UK and published in the journal Nature Communications, found 107 proteins associated with cancer diagnosed within seven years of blood sample collection and 182 proteins strongly associated with cancer within three years of blood collection.

The study authors concluded that some of these proteins may help detect cancer much earlier and offer new treatment options, although further research is needed.

To save more lives from cancer, we need to better understand what happens in the earliest stages of the disease… and how the proteins in our blood can affect our risk of cancer. We now need to study these proteins in depth to see which could be plausibly used for prevention, says Dr Keren Papier, senior nutritional epidemiologist at Oxford Population Health and co-author of the aforementioned research.
A related study that examined genetic data from more than 300,000 cancer cases identified 40 blood proteins that affect the risk of nine types of cancer. Altering these proteins can increase or decrease the risk of cancer, but it can also lead to unwanted side effects.

Positive reactions of the experts
The data is impressive. Finding evidence of cancer before it becomes clinically apparent provides a critical opportunity for treatment with a higher chance of success, or more importantly, achieving the holy grail of preventing cancer before it even occurs. There is still work to be done, but it is an important step forward in a disease that affects one in two UK citizens in their lifetime, says Mark Lawler, professor of digital health at Queen’s University Belfast.
Lawrence Young, professor of molecular oncology at the British University of Warwick, emphasized the significance of the discovery for identifying markers of increased risk of cancer and helping in early diagnosis. Determining protein changes that precede the development of cancer is not only important for identifying high-risk individuals, but can also provide insight into the factors responsible for cancer, he notes.

Source: The Guardian