Scientists develop blood test to detect, find cancer

A Scientist looks at cells through a fluorescent microscope.

Credit: Dan Kitwood

Credit: Dan Kitwood

A Scientist looks at cells through a fluorescent microscope.

Scientists at the University of California may have just made the next breakthrough in the battle against cancer.

A test called CancerLocator works by looking for DNA released from tumors and circulates in the blood, The Telegraph reported.

And the test doesn’t just find cancer, it can also tell doctors where the cancer is located.

That’s because tumors have a “footprint” depending on where they’re located and computers running the CancerLocator test can zero in on it.

But don't ask doctors for the test just yet, it's still in the testing phase, with the developers telling The Telegraph that it "requires further validation."

The study was published in the journal Genome Biology.