What if you could intercept cancer before it develops? That’s the hope after research showed that proteins associated with cancer can appear in people’s blood more than seven years before they are diagnosed.
Academics at the University of Oxford, England, identified 618 proteins linked to 19 different types of cancer – including 107 proteins in people whose blood was collected at least seven years before they were diagnosed.
The findings suggest that the proteins could be involved at the earliest stages of cancer. “This research brings us closer to being able to prevent cancer with targeted drugs – once thought impossible but now much more attainable,” said Dr Karl Smith-Byrne, senior molecular epidemiologist at Oxford Population Health, a department of the University of Oxford.
His team will now try to learn more about the roles these proteins play in cancer development, how tests might be able to spot them, and which drugs can stop them driving cancer.
Though genetics can play a role in the development of cancer, lifestyle choices are a big factor. Quitting smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, and exercising more can all reduce your cancer risk.
Image: National Cancer Institute/Unsplash
