cancerintercept

Phillip Jeffrey

The Problem With Direct-To-Consumer Blood Tests: ‘Cancer Stethoscopes’ Are Not A Thing Yet

The idea of taking one blood test that tests for multiple cancers, a called a “liquid biopsy” in the medical-testing business, is a tempting one. If they work as promised, the tests check your blood for traces of various types of cancer before you even show any symptoms. The problem with these tests, meant as an option for very early cancer screening, is that they’re available, and even marketed directly to consumers, even though they haven’t been shown to actually be effective. [More]