Lung cancer typically doesn’t cause signs and symptoms in its earliest stages. Signs and symptoms of lung cancer typically occur when the disease is advanced. Early diagnosis of lung cancer has associations with an increased likelihood of survival.

Low dose computed tomography (low dose CT scans) is the recommended screening test for lung cancer, but it has a high false-positive rate.

But thankfully, there is a new development as reported by Medical News Today (MNT). It says that researchers in China have now developed a rapid blood test for screening early-stage lung cancer.

This test works by measuring the levels of specific lipids in the blood, and thankfully, has a low false-positive rate, thus raising hopes worldwide that we can finally detect early-stage lung cancer.

Developed by the researchers at Peking University People’s Hospital in China, this rapid and reliable blood test can run 24 blood samples at a time and has potential use for large-scale screening. 

The novel noninvasive test, named Lung Cancer Artificial Intelligence Detector (LCAID), assesses the levels of lipid biomarkers in plasma samples. The high accuracy of this test suggests that it could be potentially deployed in combination with current screening techniques to improve the detection of early-stage lung cancer.

The study’s lead author Jun Wang, chief of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Peking University Peoples Hospital, told Medical News Today: “The accuracy and high specificity of LCAID might help improve the detection and screening of lung cancer and consequently reduce unnecessary exposure to radiation and invasive diagnostic procedures. Notably, most patients with lung cancer included in this study were at Stage I, and over 90 per cent of them were correctly classified by LCAID.”

“Although several blood-based tests have been developed to aid in classifying lung cancer, there is still a paucity of noninvasive and reliable methods and biomarkers for early-stage lung cancer detection. Therefore, the establishment of an effective way to detect early-stage lung cancer and to screen high-risk populations is an important clinical challenge,” said Dr Wang to Medical News Today.

The research describing the development and validation of this new test appears in Science Translational Medicine.

How does the new lung cancer detection test work?

Here is an explanation is given by Medical News Today about how the new test was formulated and how it works.

1. Called the  Lung Cancer Artificial Intelligence Detector (LCAID), the test identifies the metabolic biomarkers in the plasma of individuals with early-stage lung cancer.
2. The development of a lung tumour causes a change in the metabolism of the lung tissue, potentially resulting in a change in the level of specific blood metabolites.
3. Such changes in the metabolic profile associated with a disease, such as lung cancer, are often more pronounced than changes in gene expression. 
4. Thus, changes in metabolite concentrations can serve as sensitive biomarkers for the disease.
5. Upon comparing the gene expression profile of lung cancer cells with healthy cells, the researchers found a difference in the expression levels of genes associated with lipid metabolism in the tissue samples from people with lung cancer.
6. The researchers used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to analyze the plasma and trained machine learning algorithms to identify early-stage lung cancer using the lipid metabolite profiles obtained from the 311 participants.
7. The researchers found that the levels of nine lipids could accurately identify people with early-stage lung cancer from participants without lung cancer.
8. Based on these results, the researchers developed an LC-MS test to specifically assess the levels of the nine short-listed lipids. They named the test Lung Cancer Artificial Intelligence Detector (LCAID).

Apart from the new test, one needs to be alert and notice the symptoms of lung cancer when and if they appear. According to Mayo Clinic, the signs and symptoms of lung cancer may include:

1. A new cough that doesn’t go away
2. Coughing up blood, even a small amount
3. Shortness of breath
4. Chest pain
5. Hoarseness
6. Losing weight without trying
7. Bone pain
8. Headache

Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purpose only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a dietician before starting any fitness programme or making any changes to your diet.