A new study raises the possibility of a DNA-based blood test that doctors could routinely use to determine whether a patient has cancer. There are many caveats. The research is preliminary, and the test is not cheap. Even if it does detect cancer, the test -- like the one currently used to detect prostate cancer -- could raise big questions about how to deal with the results. Even so, a genetic test for cancer would be a major advance, experts say. Read more here.
Study mentioned: Leary RJ, et al. Detection of Chromosomal Alterations in the Circulation of Cancer Patients with Whole-Genome Sequencing. Sci Transl Med 28 November 2012.
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