New Delhi: A team of UK scientists has developed a breakthrough blood test that could allow doctors to detect and monitor lung cancer in real time, potentially reducing diagnostic delays and improving patient outcomes.

Using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy, the researchers were able to detect a single lung cancer cell in a patient’s blood. The technique combines advanced infrared scanning with computer analysis to identify the unique chemical fingerprint of cancer cells, according to researchers from the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM), Keele University and Loughborough University.

Lead author Professor Josep Sulé-Suso, Associate Specialist in Oncology at UHNM, said: “This approach has the potential to help patients receive earlier diagnoses, personalised treatments, and fewer invasive procedures, and it could eventually be applied to many types of cancer beyond lung cancer.”

Circulating tumour cells (CTCs), which detach from a tumour and travel in the bloodstream, offer vital clues about disease progression, treatment effectiveness, and the risk of metastasis. Current methods to detect CTCs are often complex, costly, and time-consuming, and may miss cancer cells as their characteristics change while circulating in the blood.

The new method works by shining an infrared beam, similar to that used in TV remotes, but far more powerful, on a blood sample. Different chemicals absorb infrared light differently, and CTCs exhibit a distinct absorption pattern or “chemical fingerprint.” Computer analysis of this data can quickly determine the presence of tumour cells.

Published in the journal 'Applied Spectroscopy', the technique is simpler and more affordable than existing methods and uses standard glass slides already available in pathology labs, making it easier to integrate into routine clinical practice.

The research team now plans to test the method in larger patient groups, aiming to develop a rapid, automated blood test that could be seamlessly incorporated into standard cancer care pathways.

IANS