At least according to a new study led by Duke University Medical Center researchers.




A test for four blood proteins may provide a less-invasive follow-up for patients who have suspicious lesions on chest radiographs or computerized tomography (CT) scans.

The said four blood proteins have been identified as CEA, RBP, SCC and AAT, whose levels in the blood have been found significantly different in patients with lung cancer as compared to patients of the same age and gender who didn't have cancer.

According to Edward Patz, Jr., M.D., a radiologist at Duke and lead investigator on the study:

"CT scans have a very high false positive rate when trying to discover lung cancer. What that leads to is several follow-up imaging studies or invasive procedures like biopsy, which have risks of their own.

This study is the first step in developing a test that would allow us to sample a patient's blood and determine whether more invasive testing and treatment are necessary.

The four protein markers have all been associated with lung cancer, but none in isolation wields enough influence to definitively indicate the disease. However, in combination they may be very useful.

People whose samples landed in one of three bins at the bottom of the tree had a 90 percent chance of having cancer. Other bins indicated risks as low as 10 percent.

We talk about how devastating this disease is all the time, but we still don't have a screening system in place that can detect lung cancer early, without exposing patients to the risks of biopsy and surgery. This study is an important step in the right direction."

As opposed to an invasive biopsy of the lesions in the lungs, these blood markers are indeed an advancement in lung cancer detection.

Find more details from Duke University Medical Center.