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A new blood test can detect several cancers and other diseases
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The test looks for fragments of DNA in the blood
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The researchers hope that the test will provide an inexpensive way to diagnose liver and lung cancer
TUESDAY, April 7, 2026 (HealthDay News) — A simple, inexpensive blood test may help detect cancer and other diseases, a new study suggests.
Researchers reported on April 6 that the test works by analyzing fragments of DNA in the human bloodstream and could offer a powerful and affordable approach to diagnosing cancer and other health problems. Collections of the National Academy.
“Early detection is important,” said the senior scientist Jasmine Zhouprofessor of pathology and laboratory medicine and investigator at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“Survival rates are much higher when cancer is caught before it spreads,” Zhou said in a news release. “If you catch cancer in stage one, the outcomes are significantly better than in stage four.”
The test, called MethylScan, analyzed the DNA that cells in each organ naturally shed into the bloodstream. This genetic material contains signals that reflect what is happening in the body.
“Each day, 50 to 70 billion cells in our body die. Not only do they die, their DNA enters the bloodstream,” Zhou said. “This means we already have information from all our organs circulating in the blood.”
The test specifically assesses a process called DNA methylation, in which chemical tags attached to DNA help regulate gene activity. Methylation patterns vary by tissue type and can change when cells become cancerous or diseased.
“DNA Methylation Reflects Tissue Health,” Researcher Wen Yuan Leeprofessor of pathology and laboratory medicine at UCLA, said in a news release. “It’s a very informative signal.”
Fortunately, most of this blood DNA does not come from tumors or damaged organs. About 80% to 90% comes from healthy blood cells, which creates the background noise for the test.
The researchers achieved this by developing a technique that removes much of this background DNA before genetic sequencing. This process selectively removes unmethylated DNA fragments.
To test the accuracy of MethylScan, researchers analyzed blood samples from 1,061 people, including patients with liver, lung, ovarian and stomach cancer. Others had liver diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, alcoholic liver disease, and fatty liver disease.
The researchers found that with a 98% specificity—meaning few false positives—the test detected about 63% of cancers at all stages and about 55% of early-stage cancers.
MethylScan detected approximately 80% of liver cancer cases with a specificity of slightly more than 90%. It can also differentiate between different types of liver diseases and correctly classify about 85% of patients.
The methylation patterns tracked by the test helped identify the signal in the body.
“The ability to trace signals back to their source is important because a positive blood test must be followed up with imaging or other diagnostic procedures that target the correct organ,” Lee said.
Larger trials are needed to confirm the test’s effectiveness in screening worldwide, the researchers said.
“This study shows that blood-based methylation profiling can provide clinically relevant information across a variety of diseases,” Zhou said. “This is an exciting development that brings us closer to realizing the dream of a universal diagnostic test.”
More information
The American Cancer Society has more information cancer diagnosis,
Source: UCLA, news release, April 1, 2026
What does this mean for you?
A new blood test can use genetics to screen for cancer and other diseases.
