Single blood test to screen 13 types of cancers

New Delhi: A minimally invasive single blood test, Onko-Sure, screens 13 different types of cancers at the earliest stage of the disease, a health expert said on Friday.

“One of the recent advances in the field of cancer screening is Onko-Sure which can screen as many as 13 different types of cancers including lung, colon, rectum, ovary, liver… and other cancers,” B R Das, president (research and innovation) of SRL Diagnostics said in a statement.

“Every person should take Onko-Sure minimal invasive test once a year,” he added.

He said there were a multitude of radiological and pathological tests for cancer diagnosis but few cancer tests for the screening of various types of cancers.

“The test indicates the presence of protein fragments called FDPs (Fibrinogen Degradation Products), which occur when cancer cells break down their surroundings to facilitate cancer growth.

“It is a simple test, as the patient has to just give a blood sample and one test costs Rs 2,400,” Das said.

Cancer is the unregulated growth of cells in the body leading to a plethora of symptoms. These cancerous cells invade various organs.

“About seventy per cent of cancers in India are diagnosed in advanced stages leading to very poor outcomes and very high mortality — accounting for about 9 per cent of all deaths in India. It definitely raises an alarm for a proactive approach towards cancer diagnosis,” Das said.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 5 lakh deaths in India are attributed to various kinds of cancers annually.

According to the ministry of health, there are 28 lakh cases of cancer at any given point of time in India and 10 lakh new cases are reported every year. 

The chances of getting the disease are increased by multiple factors like use of tobacco, viral and bacterial infections, exposure to radiations, pollutants and many a times due to faulty genes which may be hereditary. [Source]