Blood test detects throat cancer with 99% accuracy: What to know

A blood test developed by Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham researchers can accurately identify HPV-associated throat cancers, according to a study published Aug. 14 in Clinical Cancer Research. 

There are currently no tests to detect early-stage HPV-associated throat cancers, leading most cases to be detected and diagnosed after the cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the neck, an Aug. 18 news release from Mass General Brigham said. 

Here are three things to know from the study:

1. Efficacy of the blood test, called HPV-DeepSeek, was compared to that of other blood tests and tissue biopsy.
2. HPV-DeekSpeek correctly identified patients with or without throat cancer with 99% accuracy, compared to 82% to 90% accuracy seen with other methods.
3. Researchers are now studying how well the test can detect other types of HPV-associated cancers and improving the test’s sensitivity. 

Read the full study here. 

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