New test can predict cancer up to 13 years before disease develops

People who develop cancer have shorter telomeres, the caps at the end of chromosomes which protect the DNA

By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor
01 May 2015

Genetic changes can predict cancer up to 13 years in the future, according to new research.

Harvard and Northwestern University discovered that tiny but significant changes are already happening in the body more than a decade before cancer is diagnosed.

They found that the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes, which prevent DNA damage, had significantly more wear and tear in people who went on to develop cancer. In fact, in some cases they looked 15 years older.

Those caps, known as telomeres, were much shorter than they should be and continued to get shorter until around four years before the cancer developed, when they suddenly stopped shrinking. All the people with the changes went on to develop cancer.

In the new study, scientists took multiple measurements of telomeres over a 13-year period in 792 persons, 135 of whom were eventually diagnosed with different types of cancer, including prostate, skin, lung and leukaemia.

Initially, scientists discovered telomeres aged much faster, indicated by a more rapid loss of length, in individuals who were developing but not yet diagnosed with cancer.

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“We found cancer has hijacked the telomere shortening in order to flourish in the body,” added Dr Hou.

The team is hoping that if it can identify how cancer hijacks the cell, then treatments could be developed to cause cancer cells to self-destruct without harming healthy cells.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11574893/New-test-can-predict-cancer-up-to-13-years-before-disease-develops.html

Stopping cancer before it starts, sounds a lot more effective than the alternative that ravages the body with toxins from chemo/radiation, that all too often leave the patient with a poor prognosis anyway.....or a precarious cure where the treatment can induce a future cancer.

true but not sure I would want to know I might get it

Well, hopefully they could treat it.

that's the idea for sure. Imagine catching something pre-stage 1. Odds of survival are great.