New Blood Test Detects 12 Common Cancers Before Symptoms Appear
|
By LabMedica International staff writers Posted on 28 Apr 2025 |
|
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with over 42,000 new diagnoses each year. Detecting bowel cancer in its early stages can be challenging, and as the disease progresses, survival rates significantly decrease due to fewer available treatment options. Early detection is essential, as 9 in 10 people survive bowel cancer when it is identified at stage 1, compared to only 1 in 10 when diagnosed at stage 4. Now, patients may soon benefit from cutting-edge technology that could enable earlier, faster, and more cost-effective diagnoses, reducing the need for invasive procedures like colonoscopies and biopsies, and saving critical time.
Xgenera (Hampshire, UK), in collaboration with the University of Southampton (Southampton, UK), has developed an AI-powered blood test that holds promise for earlier detection of bowel cancer, improving diagnosis rates, and giving patients valuable time to receive more timely and effective treatment. The AI-driven test, named miONCO-Dx, was developed using data from over 20,000 patients and has been optimized into a faster, cheaper, and more scalable solution, representing a major breakthrough. The test works by measuring microRNA in a blood sample and using AI to determine the presence of cancer and its location in the body.
This simple blood test could detect cancer earlier, when treatment is not only more effective but also less costly and easier, potentially helping to conserve valuable healthcare resources in the long term. Early trials have shown promising results, with the test demonstrating over 99% accuracy in identifying 12 of the most common and deadly cancers, including bowel cancer. The UK government, in partnership with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has granted GBP 2.4 million to further the development of miONCO-Dx. The test will soon be evaluated in a clinical trial involving 8,000 patients, marking a significant milestone towards making this technology accessible to patients.
“This blood test has the potential to help us detect bowel cancer earlier and reduce the need for invasive tests, and the next step in this trial will now be vital in gathering further evidence on its effectiveness and how it could work in practice,” said Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS National Medical Director.
Related Links:
Xgenera
University of Southampton
Latest Molecular Diagnostics News
- Simple Blood Test Better Predicts Heart Disease Risk
- Blood Test Could Predict Relapse of Autoimmune Blood Vessel Disease
- First-of-its-Kind Blood Test Detects Trauma-Related Diseases
- Key Gene Identified in Common Heart Disease Unlocks Life-Saving Diagnostic Potential
- Cheap Cell-Free DNA Based Test Accurately Predicts Preterm Birth
- RNA Blood Test Detects Cancers and Resistance to Treatment
- IL-6 Outperforms Traditional Tests for Early Sepsis Detection
- Simple Blood Test Improves Heart Attack and Stroke Risk Prediction
- Blood Biomarker Test Could Detect Genetic Predisposition to Alzheimer’s
- Novel Autoantibody Against DAGLA Discovered in Cerebellitis
- Blood Test Could Identify Patients at Risk for Severe Scleroderma
- Gene-Based Blood Test Accurately Predicts Tumor Recurrence of Advanced Skin Cancer
- Rapid Blood Test Identifies Pre-Symptomatic Patients with Parkinson’s Disease
- Blood Test for Early Alzheimer's Detection Achieves Over 90% Accuracy
- RNA-Based Blood Test Detects Preeclampsia Risk Months Before Symptoms
- First Of Its Kind Test Uses microRNAs to Predict Toxicity from Cancer Therapy
Channels
Clinical Chemistry
view channel
‘Brilliantly Luminous’ Nanoscale Chemical Tool to Improve Disease Detection
Thousands of commercially available glowing molecules known as fluorophores are commonly used in medical imaging, disease detection, biomarker tagging, and chemical analysis. They are also integral in... Read more
Low-Cost Portable Screening Test to Transform Kidney Disease Detection
Millions of individuals suffer from kidney disease, which often remains undiagnosed until it has reached a critical stage. This silent epidemic not only diminishes the quality of life for those affected... Read more
New Method Uses Pulsed Infrared Light to Find Cancer's 'Fingerprints' In Blood Plasma
Cancer diagnoses have traditionally relied on invasive or time-consuming procedures like tissue biopsies. Now, new research published in ACS Central Science introduces a method that utilizes pulsed infrared... Read more
Hematology
view channel
New Scoring System Predicts Risk of Developing Cancer from Common Blood Disorder
Clonal cytopenia of undetermined significance (CCUS) is a blood disorder commonly found in older adults, characterized by mutations in blood cells and a low blood count, but without any obvious cause or... Read more
Non-Invasive Prenatal Test for Fetal RhD Status Demonstrates 100% Accuracy
In the United States, approximately 15% of pregnant individuals are RhD-negative. However, in about 40% of these cases, the fetus is also RhD-negative, making the administration of RhoGAM unnecessary.... Read more
Immunology
view channel
Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer
Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more
Machine Learning-Enabled Blood Test Predicts Immunotherapy Response in Lymphoma Patients
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has emerged as one of the most promising recent developments in the treatment of blood cancers. However, over half of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients... Read more
Microbiology
view channel
Handheld Device Delivers Low-Cost TB Results in Less Than One Hour
Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, affecting an estimated 10 million people annually. In 2021, about 4.2 million TB cases went undiagnosed or unreported, mainly due to... Read more
New AI-Based Method Improves Diagnosis of Drug-Resistant Infections
Drug-resistant infections, particularly those caused by deadly bacteria like tuberculosis and staphylococcus, are rapidly emerging as a global health emergency. These infections are more difficult to treat,... Read more
Breakthrough Diagnostic Technology Identifies Bacterial Infections with Almost 100% Accuracy within Three Hours
Rapid and precise identification of pathogenic microbes in patient samples is essential for the effective treatment of acute infectious diseases, such as sepsis. The fluorescence in situ hybridization... Read more
Pathology
view channel
Sensitive and Specific DUB Enzyme Assay Kits Require Minimal Setup Without Substrate Preparation
Ubiquitination and deubiquitination are two important physiological processes in the ubiquitin-proteasome system, responsible for protein degradation in cells. Deubiquitinating (DUB) enzymes contain around... Read more
World’s First AI Model for Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis Achieves Over 90% Accuracy
Thyroid cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and its precise management typically relies on two primary systems: (1) the 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) or ... Read more
Breakthrough Diagnostic Approach to Significantly Improve TB Detection
Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, with 10.8 million new cases and 1.25 million deaths reported in 2023. Early detection through effective screening is crucial in identifying... Read more
Rapid, Ultra-Sensitive, PCR-Free Detection Method Makes Genetic Analysis More Accessible
Genetic testing has been an important method for detecting infectious diseases, diagnosing early-stage cancer, ensuring food safety, and analyzing environmental DNA. For a long time, polymerase chain reaction... Read moreTechnology
view channel
Disposable Microchip Technology Could Selectively Detect HIV in Whole Blood Samples
As of the end of 2023, approximately 40 million people globally were living with HIV, and around 630,000 individuals died from AIDS-related illnesses that same year. Despite a substantial decline in deaths... Read more
Pain-On-A-Chip Microfluidic Device Determines Types of Chronic Pain from Blood Samples
Chronic pain is a widespread condition that remains difficult to manage, and existing clinical methods for its treatment rely largely on self-reporting, which can be subjective and especially problematic... Read more
Innovative, Label-Free Ratiometric Fluorosensor Enables More Sensitive Viral RNA Detection
Viruses present a major global health risk, as demonstrated by recent pandemics, making early detection and identification essential for preventing new outbreaks. While traditional detection methods are... Read more
Industry
view channel
Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions
Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Grifols and Tecan’s IBL Collaborate on Advanced Biomarker Panels
Grifols (Barcelona, Spain), one of the world’s leading producers of plasma-derived medicines and innovative diagnostic solutions, is expanding its offer in clinical diagnostics through a strategic partnership... Read more
