Johns Hopkins researchers develop single blood test that screens for eight common cancers

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Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed a single blood test that screens for eight common cancer types and helps identify the location of the cancer.

The test, called CancerSEEK, is a unique, noninvasive test that simultaneously evaluates levels of eight common cancer proteins and the presence of cancer gene mutations from DNA circulating in the blood. The cancers that the test screens for—cancers of the ovary, liver, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, colorectum, lung, or breast—account for more than 60 percent of cancer deaths in the United States. Five of the cancers covered by the test currently have no screening test.

CancerSEEK can, in principle, be administered by primary care providers at the time of other routine blood work. The investigators envision that the CancerSEEK test will eventually cost less than $500.