“Scientists aren’t far away from creating blood tests that can be used to detect the earliest stages of cancer, Guardant Health co-founder and CEO Helmy Eltoukhy said Monday.
The Silicon Valley oncology company, backed by SoftBank, is working with U.K.-based AstraZeneca to develop blood tests to help identify cancer patients likely to respond well to treatment with AstraZeneca’s oncology therapies.
Bits of cancer DNA can be found in a patient’s blood and give doctors clues about which treatments are most likely to work. So-called “liquid biopsy” tests, which can detect this tiny genetic material, are already nearly a standard of care for people with stage 3 or 4 cancer, a cancer that is far along in its growth, Eltoukhy said…”
