Cancer and blood tests...?

Question

If someone has cancer, will doctors be able to detect this based on blood tests? For instance, if one has early stages of lung cancer, would a routine blood test that includes red and white blood counts indicate this?

Answer 1

No. There are over 200 different types of cancer and in the overwhelming majority of this disease there is no way to tell that someone has cancer in the early stages.

There are blood markers, however, for some types of cancer but usually they are best used to monitor a disease once someone knows they have it.

Sometimes a routine blood test will show high or low counts or something unusual and a doctor will order additional tests to rule out cancer. But there is nothing available by way of a blood test that will tell a doctor that a patient has cancer . . and further . . no way to tell where the cancer might be located in the body.

Usually it is only advanced cancer that has noticable symptoms . . early cancer is asymptomatic. The best way to find an early cancer is by noticing any unusual bumps or lumps and having them investigated immediately.

Answer 2

There are specific blood tests used for monitoring some cancers.

There are other test for blood cancers like leukaemia.

Normal blood tests would not be looking for cancers, and not all cancers would show any changes in blood.

Lung cancer comes in more than one type. There is no blood test to screen for this. Diagnosis is via a broncoscopy, biopsy or examination of sputum.

Answer 3

What your blood test tell if something is wrong. They use symptoms of a person also they would use a scan or xray to to see things the blood work might indicate a problem. No one test can rule something in or out.

Answer 4

Not necessarily, depends on if it has metastisized or not!