A U.S. biotech firm has developed a blood test that can identify 18 different cancers at their earliest stages — covering every major organ system in the human body. Researchers at Novelna say the test analyzes proteins in blood plasma to detect early-stage tumors with a level of accuracy that outperforms existing multi-cancer screening methods, including those relying on tumor DNA.
At a glance
- Multi-cancer blood test: The new test screens for 18 solid tumor types simultaneously, covering all major organs, using a single blood draw.
- Early detection accuracy: At the earliest cancer stage (Stage I), the test identified 93% of cancers in male samples and 84% in female samples at a specificity of 99%.
- Plasma protein signals: Nearly all the cancer-linked proteins detected were present at very low levels in blood, showing the potential to catch disease before a tumor causes visible damage.
Why protein detection matters
Cancer accounts for one in every six deaths worldwide. The difference between a Stage I diagnosis and a Stage IV one can be the difference between a high survival rate and an extremely low one — yet most current screening tools are invasive, expensive, or effective only for a single cancer type.
Blood proteins have long been considered a promising avenue for early detection, but prior tests struggled with two core problems: sensitivity (accurately catching those who have cancer) and specificity (accurately excluding those who don’t). The Novelna team says their method addresses both.
By examining proteins in blood plasma rather than circulating tumor DNA, the researchers were able not only to distinguish cancerous samples from healthy ones, but also to determine which organ the cancer came from — a capability they describe as “tissue of origin localization” — in more than 80% of cases.
What the study found
The research team collected blood plasma samples from 440 people diagnosed with 18 different cancer types and from 44 healthy donors. They identified protein signatures that flagged early-stage disease with high accuracy across all 18 tumor categories.
Their sex-specific panels — 150 proteins each, designed separately for male and female biology — showed that cancer protein signals appear to differ meaningfully between sexes. The team published their findings in the journal BMJ Oncology in January 2024 C.E.
Writing in the journal, the researchers said the test “could re-shape screening guidelines, making this plasma test a standard part of routine check-ups” and described a path toward “a cost-effective, highly accurate, multi-cancer screening test that can be implemented on a population-wide scale.” The team also noted that their approach outperformed the Galleri test currently being trialed on the U.K.’s National Health Service — a widely watched effort in its own right.
Independent experts: promising, but more work ahead
Outside researchers welcomed the findings while urging measured expectations.
Dr. Mangesh Thorat of the Centre for Cancer Prevention at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine called the test’s sensitivity for Stage I cancers notably higher than comparable assays in development. “If the assay performance in future, well-designed sequential studies is anywhere close to what this preliminary study suggests, then it could really be a gamechanger,” he said.
Prof. Paul Pharoah, a cancer epidemiology expert at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, described a test that is both sensitive and specific as “a holy grail for early cancer detection” — but cautioned that this is still early-stage development. “While the results show some promise,” he said, “it is far too soon to be confident that this test will turn out to be useful.”
The study’s own authors acknowledge the limitation directly: a sample of 440 cancer patients is relatively small, and larger sequential studies will be needed before the test is ready for clinical use. The gap between a promising lab result and a validated, population-wide screening tool is real and not trivial. That said, the direction of the research — cheaper, less invasive, broader — points toward something the global health system badly needs.
The bigger picture
This advance sits within a broader surge of investment in early cancer detection research over the past decade. Liquid biopsy — the general category of blood-based cancer tests — has attracted significant scientific and commercial attention, and multiple teams around the world are racing to make multi-cancer screening a routine part of healthcare.
What makes this particular study notable is the breadth of coverage (18 cancers, all major organs), the specificity achieved at very early disease stages, and the relatively low cost implied by a simple blood draw. If validated at scale, a test like this could be especially valuable in lower-income healthcare settings where expensive imaging equipment or specialist referrals are not always accessible. The World Health Organization has long identified early detection as one of the highest-leverage strategies for reducing cancer mortality globally, particularly in regions where late-stage diagnosis remains the norm.
There is also the question of equity in deployment. Even a cheap, accurate test only helps people who have access to the healthcare system that offers it — and building that access requires policy commitment alongside scientific progress. But the science, at least, is moving in the right direction. BMJ Oncology continues to publish studies in this space as the field advances.
Read more
For more on this story, see: The Guardian
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- U.K. cancer death rates are down to their lowest level on record
- Renewables now make up at least 49% of global power capacity
- The Good News for Humankind archive on global health
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