Cancer, the deadly killer strikes unexpectedly and most of the times, it is too late by the time it is detected. Liver cancer is one such disease that goes undetected till it is in advanced stage and too late for the treatment. Lung caner kills nearly 700,000 patients a year, especially in Asia and Africa where cases of hepatitis infections that cause liver caner are high.
The standard diagnostic tests used to detect liver cancer include biopsies, imaging and the AFP test where the malignant tumors based on the concentration of particular substances – called ‘markers’ — in the blood are detected. These tests often fail to detect liver cancer in early stages.
Patients now have a new hope in the new test that has been known to detect liver cancer in early stages offering patients a chance to go in for early treatments and better survival.
How does the new test work? The simple blood test detects changes in sugars attached to proteins that occur in liver cancer. The size of the tumor based on the amount of two particular sugar groups that appear in the proteins can be determined. When this is used with the AFP test, the results are more accurate.
This test could offer hope to patients as an early detection means an early treatment and a better chance of survival.
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