Modern methods of diagnosis of this deadly disease as cancer are not informative enough. The disease is usually detected at a late stage. One of the most common ways to recognize cancer is the identification of tumor markers (if simplistically, the metabolic products of tumors). But recently, researchers from Wales made a sensational statement: it turns out that this method is not practically effective.
On the basis of the Cancer centre of South-West Wales for 6 months was a large-scale study. It was found that of 1747 patients who was first appointed examination, cancer is found in 17% of people. It would seem that the figure is good enough, but here is the tumor marker indicated the diagnosis only in 2% of cases. Of the patients who are treated in other departments of the centre, in primary 985 of scheduled tests a diagnosis of cancer and was diagnosed in 50 patients, of which tumor markers indicated the disease only 5 people. In the secondary part held 762 analysis. 244 patients were suffering from cancer, but the tumor markers identified the disease only in 40 patients. As stated by the author of the report Craig Barrington at the conference of the European society for medical Oncology (ESMO),
“Most of the tests for tumor markers did not lead to the diagnosis of a malignant tumor. And when patients still have cancer and, in most cases, the markers made no contribution to diagnosis.”
So there is hope for the development and implementation of more informative methods of diagnostics, because many forms of cancer can be cured in the early stages, without waiting for the development of health-threatening processes.
Modern tests to determine cancer are not effective?
Vladimir Kuznetsov