How to catch cancer before it shows symptoms

Detect cancer with a simple blood or urine sample, long before the disease shows signs of its existence. Anticipating the future in oncology is now possible. It’s not science fiction. A new revolution based on liquid biopsy allows this. Scientific research and evolution in molecular diagnosis are giving rise to a new stage in the hyper-early detection of certain oncological processes. And throughout Europe, the first monitors are in Spain, specifically in the Hyper-Early Prevention and Diagnosis Unit of the HM CIOCC cancer hospital. This department, integrated into the structure of HM Sanchinarro, began its research four years ago, and at the beginning of 2023 it opened its doors combining traditional screening tests – such as mammography, CT or colonoscopy – with the most modern molecular diagnostic tests and personalized care . for each patient. Its objective? buy as much time as possible from the illness. «We are always late. When we detect the disease it is because the symptoms are already advanced, and in many cases there is nothing more to do. Now that we have the tools to detect tumors early, we can increase the probability of curing patients by 90%, compared to the 60% that is achieved with the diagnostic means that have been applied to date,” details Paloma Peinado, doctor and coordinator of the CIOCC. Related News standard No They reveal the weaknesses of a cancer superprotein RI KRAS is one of the genes that suffers the most mutations in cancers of many types. It is found in one in ten human cancers, with a higher prevalence in severe types such as those of the pancreas or lung. The unit is made up of some oncologists specialized in the hyper-early detection of cancer. However, it is a multidisciplinary work in which specialists in molecular medicine and doctors from other specialties are also involved. The key to their work is found in liquid biopsy, a modality of traditional biopsy, where instead of extracting a sample of tissue or tumor cells to analyze them and subsequently detect the disease, this information about the tumor is accessed through body fluids, long before the appearance of symptoms. «We are always late to the disease. Now, molecular diagnosis will increase the probability of cure to 90%» Paloma Peinado Doctor and coordinator of CIOCC This advance, in Peinado’s words, makes a less intrusive procedure possible, making it easier for a greater number of people to agree to undergo tests of control and therefore, more lives are saved. “There is no need for sedation, taking laxatives… it is a simple blood test, but it allows us to go where traditional tests have not reached to date.” Fast delivery times Another advantage of these new techniques is that the delivery times for results are shortened. “Liquid biopsy techniques at a molecular level anticipate any radiological finding by around a year,” explains the doctor. It will always depend on the disease and the patient, but from the moment the sample is taken until the results are delivered, an average of 20 days passes. A short period of time, which saves long waits compared to other procedures. According to estimates by the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), one in three women and one in two men will have a tumor throughout their life. “As the probability of having cancer is so high in society, our main objective is to advance the diagnosis to localized stages, which is when we can be sure of curing the disease,” Peinado details. This “Cancer Center” has two hyper-early test modalities certified by the European Commission. The first is unitumoral, that is, it detects a type of cancer. “At this time we are capable of preventing colorectal, breast, bladder, pancreatic cancer or leukemia,” says Peinado, who does not rule out increasing analysis models for other tumors in the future. Multitumor test “The revolution,” in the words of the oncologist, comes with the multitumor test. «It is capable of detecting more than 70 types of tumors and their organ of origin. There is nothing like it in the entire healthcare field,” says Peinado. “The fact that with a blood test we can detect practically any tumor from its earliest stages is something that breaks all the schemes we have to date.” It is aimed at healthy people over 50 years of age, for women in the detection of gynecological tumors (breast, ovary, endometrium and cervix) or for diabetic patients, since it can identify the panel of most frequent tumors in this group. Blood samples from the molecular diagnostic tests of patients ISABEL PERMUY On the other hand, another of the tasks of this CIOCC unit is to make available to people with certain suspicious findings in classic tests other molecular tests that demonstrate whether the suspicion is unfounded . For example, for lung cancer, a test has been devised for people who have a millimeter-sized solitary lung nodule on CT scan that is uncertain when determining whether it is malignant or benign. “It is a simple blood test, but it allows us to go where traditional tests have not reached to date” Paloma Peinado Doctor and coordinator of CIOCC Likewise, to detect prostate cancer in men who have figures between two and ten in the prostate antigen, a urine test is performed that identifies whether or not it is advisable to perform a biopsy due to the probability of suffering from a high-grade prostate carcinoma. Also for people with a suspicious thyroid nodule, to detect thyroid cancer. «We want to avoid unnecessary tests and biopsies. We seek to be accurate with the diagnosis so that the patient is not left with doubts about her state of health,” explains Peinado. Personalized follow-up plan The other function that the unit is responsible for is to offer patients a unique and personalized follow-up plan for each disease and each person. “Today, screening programs are general, the same for everyone, but not all patients require the same things,” laments the doctor. At CIOCC they analyze screening history, family history, hereditary risk as well as your personal needs. “With all this information we carry out a comprehensive analysis and create a specific follow-up plan for the patient.” More than 400 patients have passed through her hands, on whom constant check-ups have been carried out. People from all over Spain, because, although the laboratory and the equipment are located in Madrid, the unit is available to users in other territories of the HM Hospitales healthcare network such as Barcelona, ​​La Coruña or Málaga. 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This site consists of a genetic collection of samples and data from healthy patients that have been placed under the protection of molecular diagnostic tests, so that this information allows testing new future developments and comparing the effectiveness of different methods and technologies. liquid biopsy in the development of different application scenarios. «Currently, for research in this field, there is no library in Spain of healthy people who have been previously tested with a hyper-early diagnostic test. Developing this collection with associated clinical information would accelerate the development of new tests, as well as help simulate and compare different circumstances,” explains Paloma Peinado. The problem it faces is that a huge number of samples are needed, so for now it is a “future project.” “We are talking about analyzing healthy people, of whom luckily only a small percentage will develop cancer in their lives,” concludes Peinado.