Silicon Valley Startup Grail Sees Hope for Cancer Blood Test
- Study used DNA fragments in blood to spot head and neck cancer
- Grail wants to create commercial test for the cancer
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The quest for a simple blood test to catch cancer early has attracted heavy hitters from Bill Gates to Merck & Co. Now there’s a glimpse of evidence that it can work, at least for one type of malignancy.
A study led by Hong Kong-based researchers and published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine used DNA fragments in the blood to detect a kind of head and neck cancer called nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The procedure, known as a “liquid biopsy,” caught the cancer earlier and more accurately than existing methods -- and ultimately boosted patients’ chances of survival.