can a blood test show if you have cancer?

Answer 1

There are various tests that are carried out on blood samples to determine if cancer is present.
Ca 19-9
Ca 2+
PSA
T T T Ms
FBC/ WCC
These are all tests that are done in a lab at the hospital.

Answer 2

If specific investigations are requested in a blood test, "tumour Markers" or other abnormalities can sometimes show up with certain kinds of cancer. This though on its own would not be sufficient to diagnose any cancer, but should prompt Doctors into carrying out further investigations such as biopsies if relevant, or scans. Good luck if you are worried.

Answer 3

Blood test can tell a lot but they aren't the final work on if you have Cancer.
One has to have a Ca test and they differ for each type of cancer. Those type of test are expensive and many of them so are used mainly when a specific cancer is diagnosed.

Answer 4

"There is now a blood test that will accurately detect early cancer of all types. It has an accuracy of greater than 95%. If the test is repeated, the accuracy is greater than 99%. That is to say, that false positive and false negative rates are less than 1%. The test is called AMAS. "

But i dont think its widely available yet, you would have to ask your GP

"Studies on more than 6,000 patients have shown a sensitivity and specificity of AMAS greater than 95% (99% if repeated). Physicians, especially those in Managed Care and HMO's, are not going to order the routine and conventional cancer screening tests, such as PSA, CEA, CA-125, x-rays, mammograms, fecal occult tests, PAP tests, colonoscopies, etc., unless AMAS is positive. IF the AMAS test is normal, there is a better than 99% chance that the doctor will not find cancer. "

Answer 5

Blood tests will show leukemia, cancer of the white blood cells. Other cancers may not show up and only a biopsy and examination of the cells will reveal the malignancy if any.

Answer 6

It can show some types of cancer or it can show the markers for a cancer -

PST is a great example of this - elevated numbers of this are an indicator of prostate cancer

My cancer was "found" because I had an elevated IGG protein level - which showed Myeloma activity

Good luck

Jewells
35 months and still here

Answer 7

Not on its own. A normal blood test wouldn't, but with clinical suspicion of something, then certain tests can be useful, such as those mentioned earlier. In addition to these, and in areas i know more about, a raising CEA in a patient with previous colorectal cancer would lead you to be suspicious about local recurrence or liver secondaries, and an AFP of over 400 in a patient with an indetermined liver lesion would be diagnostic of HCC.

Answer 8

It's not that straight forward - there are some cancers which will have an effect on your blood, but a positive diagnosis is usually done by biopsy or MRI scan.

Answer 9

Though blood and urine tests can help diagnose the cancer, other tests are usually necessary to make the diagnosis.

Answer 10

its diagnosed by having a biopsy along with blood tests