Blood tests versus biopsies
/Could a simple blood test replace the invasive tissue biopsy?
Answer: It’s complicated …
Jake Siegel / Fred Hutch News Service
For years, the idea seemed as far-fetched as a fairy tale.
Once upon a time, there was a tumor cell that died. It’s innards spilled out into the bloodstream of the body where it had lived. The owner of that body went to a doctor and got a blood draw for a test, which identified the cell’s floating DNA fragments as cancer. The doctor then drew up a personalized treatment plan based on those bits of DNA, and the patient lived happily ever after …
The appeal of a simple blood test to detect and analyze cancer is obvious. It could replace the necessary evil of tissue biopsies — invasive, often risky and painful procedures to collect tumor cells with a needle or through surgery. A vial of blood sounds like a better trade than a chunk of tissue.
Recently, the idea of these so-called “liquid biopsies” seems less like a fantasy.
