The researchers at Oxford population health have compared blood samples from over 44,000 people and seen how the content of proteins in the blood varied depending on whether the people had cancer or not. High or sometimes low concentrations of certain proteins give a greatly increased risk of developing, for example, breast, lung or pancreatic cancer.
– The amazing thing about this is that we see signs, seven to ten years before a cancer diagnosis.
It helps us to identify these people and which biological processes within them
that go wrong and lead to cancer, says Karl Smith-Byrne, molecular epidemiologist at Oxford Population Health.
“Five to ten years away”
If you find out that you have a serious cancer risk, you can monitor and start treatment earlier. But a few more years of research are needed to more precisely understand the role of the proteins.
– We are at an early stage when it comes to identifying what these molecules are. To take a test
which people can take at a health clinic, I hope to be able to come within five to ten years, says Smith-Byrne.