menu
FR | EN
Medical assistance
Certified Medical Tourism ProfessionalBest Medical Travel Agency 2015Best use of technology in Medical Travel 2017

French researchers develop 'world first' lung cancer blood test

14/06/2016

French researchers develop 'world first' lung cancer blood testFrance is world-renowned for its excellent healthcare facilities, and that's why so many people each year take the decision to come here and undergo a medical procedure with our help.

But did you know that a team of French cancer researchers was one of the first in the world to develop a blood test that can detect lung cancer?

Lead by Prof. Paul Hofman from Nice University Hospital and the Inserm research centre at Nice Sophia-Antipolis university, the simple test developed by the team can highlight circulating tumour cells years before any signs of a tumour appear.

The team of French researchers conducted tests on a total of 245 cancer-free patients. Of these patients, 168 were heavy smokers with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) - a risk factor for lung cancer - and 77 without COPD (42 smokers and 35 non-smokers).

Circulating tumour cells were discovered in five of the 168 patients with COPD, all of who subsequently developed cancer. Fortunately, swift surgery to remove the cancer was successful and follow-up CT-scans a year later showed them to be in remission.

Prof. Hofman said that the blood test allowed them to gain about four years on the cancer, which significantly increased the patients' chances of a positive outcome.

The results of the "world first" tests were first published in late 2014 in the US open access peer-reviewed scientific journal Plos One.
expand_less