By IANS
London : Scientists in Belgium claim to have developed a test that can accurately detect liver cancer in its early stage in over 50 percent of cases using a small blood sample of the patient.
Cancer of the liver is very difficult to detect and is a major cause of death in Asia and Africa, with rising incidence in Western countries as well.
Methods of detecting malignant growths are often based on the concentration of particular substances called markers present in the blood.
For the detection of the disease, only the alphafeto-protein (AFP) marker is generally used. However, this marker is not very accurate and often gives false positive results.
Researchers at the Ghent University in Belgium, in collaboration with research centres in China, examined the blood concentrations in Chinese patients with scarring of the liver due to a hepatitis B viral infection, reported the health portal News Medical.
They found that the quantities of two particular sugar groups that appear on the blood proteins varied according to the stage of the disease. Furthermore, these values correlated with the size of the tumour.
The researchers were able to make the correct diagnosis in 70 percent of the cases – a success rate that equals that of the tumour marker currently being used.
When the existing test is used in combination with the new test, the accuracy of disease diagnosis rises dramatically.