Episode 61: Liquid biopsies for cancer detection

The American Cancer Society estimates 600,000 Americans will die from cancer this year making it the second leading cause of death behind CVD.  Finding cancer early, before it has metastasized and spread, is still the best way to fight this disease.  Today, effective screenings are available for only five types of cancer – breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate, and over seven of 10 cancer deaths result from types of the disease for which we currently don’t have screening exams.  So called liquid biopsies promise to be a new breakthrough in cancer screening; allowing physicians to tell whether someone has one out of dozens of cancers with a single blood draw.