In the near future, it will be possible to detect cancer via blood tests years before a tumor becomes visible on CT or MRI scans. Anastasia Mochalova—an oncologist and chemotherapy specialist, Doctor of Medical Sciences, professor at the Academic Research and Education Center of the Petrovsky National Research Center of Surgery, and head of the antitumor drug therapy department at Medsi Clinical Hospital No. 1—discussed this promising technology with the Izvestia newspaper.
Liquid biopsy is one of the most promising areas in modern oncology. According to the expert, this method offers a less invasive alternative to traditional tissue analysis. The process relies on the fact that, even at the earliest stages of tumor development, fragments of the tumor’s DNA are released into the bloodstream, where they can be detected through laboratory testing.
Mochalova notes that this approach enables disease diagnosis before the tumor is visible on CT or MRI scans, and early detection significantly improves the chances of successful treatment.
Another promising tool is artificial intelligence, which can successfully analyze vast datasets of CT and MRI images as well as histological samples. Neural networks can spot changes that a human might overlook.
Modern algorithms can also predict how a tumor will respond to various treatment options and identify individuals who should undergo earlier and more comprehensive examinations.
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