Routine blood tests can help in early detection of cancer

A basic blood test can help in the early detection of cancer. Scientists came to this conclusion after studying more than 3 million Canadian case histories, said Columnist.

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The detection of thrombocytosis has been associated with a significant increase in the risk of certain cancers after 5 years. In general, a high platelet count increased the likelihood of detecting a solid tumor by a factor of 2,7 within 2 years.

What types of cancer have researchers linked to thrombocytosis?

The cancers most likely associated with unexpected thrombocytosis (platelet count> 450 x 10,9 / L) are known for their late diagnosis due to the absence of early symptoms.

The risk of developing cancer in patients with thrombocytosis increases, in particular:

• ovarian cancer - 23,3 times (this is the highest);
• pancreatic cancer - 3,8 times;
• cervical cancer - 3,5 times.

Lung cancer was 4,4 times more likely at 2 years among patients with thrombocytosis compared with patients with a normal platelet count.

On the subject: A new blood test can detect cancer long before the onset of symptoms.

But scientists have failed to link thrombocytosis to breast, prostate, and thyroid cancers.

The results weren't surprising, but the scale astounded scientists, according to Stephen Naroda, MD, director of the family breast cancer research division at the Women's College Research Institute in Toronto.

The people urged physicians, especially those working in primary health care, to take note that elevated platelet counts may be associated with lung, colon and ovarian cancers.

Study in the UK

Scientists from Great Britain came to similar results. A study by Sarah Bailey, senior research fellow at the University of Exeter, published last year in the British Journal of General Practice, also found a link between cancer incidence and elevated platelet counts.

However, unlike the Canadian study, Bailey's group was able to isolate those patients who had troubling symptoms of cancer. Bailey and her colleagues found that two-thirds of men over the age of 65 had no reported warning signs of cancer for the 21 days prior to a blood platelet count.

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The study found, among other things, that the risk of cancer was increased even in some patients with normal platelet counts. For example, for men age 60 and older, lung cancer was 4,7 times more likely among people with a high-normal number (≥326 × 10,9 / L).

Ability to use thrombocytosis as a cancer screening tool

While research data from scientists in the UK suggests that routine detection of thrombocytosis can uncover unexpected forms of cancer, Bailey is wary of counting platelets as a new cancer screening tool. In the comments, she said that the study was not conducted in asymptomatic patients, but in people who consulted their therapist for signs of illness.

The efficacy of measuring platelets in asymptomatic patients for the diagnosis of cancer cannot be ascertained from this study. Bailey said it’s too early to base our findings on absolute numbers, and increasing platelet count may be more clinically beneficial. However, clinicians should watch for any unexplained increase in platelet count, whether or not the increased value exceeds the local thrombocytosis threshold.

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