Blood test does not detect colorectal cancer early

Blood test results for cancer only become apparent when the disease is in its late stages. There is widespread use of blood tests because of the belief that they can detect all diseases.

Blood test is not a method to diagnose cancer

"Methods for screening and early detection of colorectal cancer mainly include colonoscopy, fecal occult blood testing, and biopsy of suspicious tissue. Notably, if colorectal cancer is detected at an early stage, the chance of successful treatment is higher and the 5-year survival rate can be up to 90%.

However, there is a widespread situation where people are doing blood tests and think that this test can detect all diseases. However, in fact, the signs of colorectal cancer only appear clearly when the disease is in the late stages. It is important to understand that blood tests do not screen for early detection of colorectal cancer."

Associate Professor, Doctor Pham Cam Phuong, Director of the Center for Nuclear Medicine and Oncology, Bach Mai Hospital, shared at the seminar on screening, diagnosis and treatment strategies for colorectal cancer in Vietnam, organized by Nhan Dan Newspaper this morning, May 11.

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Cam Phuong noted that blood tests do not detect colorectal cancer early.

PHOTO: THIEN LAM

Dr. Phuong also noted that it is wrong to rely solely on blood tests to diagnose a disease. Especially with colorectal cancer, patients need to be evaluated based on many specific symptoms, in order to develop appropriate screening strategies and indications.

Personalized cancer treatment

Colorectal cancer is completely curable if detected early. To do that, it is necessary to screen properly and rely on reliable tests.

When people see unusual symptoms such as digestive disorders, abdominal pain, changes in stool shape, bloody stools, or always wanting to go to the bathroom... they need to go to the doctor early to detect the lesions immediately, through endoscopy and perform testing procedures under the intervention of endoscopy to diagnose the disease.

"But wait until symptoms appear before seeing a doctor. It is necessary to proactively screen periodically with highly accurate methods such as colonoscopy, especially from the age of 45, to detect polyps or cancer early, when the cure rate can reach 90%," Dr. Phuong noted.

At the same time, priority is given to proven screening methods, especially internationally standardized tests such as IVD, which are proven to be accurate and safe. This not only ensures high accuracy and reliability, but also helps clinicians feel secure in providing the most appropriate treatment regimen for each patient.

"During the treatment phase, genetic testing is also very important to choose the right targeted drug or immunotherapy, aiming at personalized treatment, the right drug, the right patient, at the right time. However, the average income of the people is not high, so doctors have not used many genetic tests for diagnosis and screening because the cost is still high," Dr. Phuong added.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/xet-nghiem-mau-khong-phat-hien-som-ung-thu-dai-truc-trang-185250511120511253.htm