Drawing on ‘Genetics’, Indian companies are offering blood tests to ferret out cancers!

The humble blood test has long been the touchstone to catch Diabetes, Malaria and HIV. Companies are now drawing on knowledge from human genetics to make blood test smart enough to fish out several kinds of cancers!

‘Strandlife sciences’a Bangalore based company began offering a test called ‘Strand LB’, that claim to be able to detect traces of a tumour from a simple blood test.

MedGenome’, another company also announced the launch of ‘Onco-track’, another liquid biopsy test.

Management of cancers will undergo a massive transformation with the availability of liquid biopsies.

The tests involve being able to catch free-floating pieces of a tumour or particular pieces of tumour DNA in the blood ,which are then analysed

Though costlier, this emerging technology in the near future will be able to detect if a seemingly healthy person has been struck by the Big ‘C’ .Early detection, timely medical intervention, longer healthy life!!

-The Hindu-