Study boosts hope of 'liquid biopsies' for cancer screening

Scientists have the first major evidence that blood tests called liquid biopsies hold promise for screening people for cancer.

Hong Kong doctors tried it for a type of head and neck cancer, and boosted early detection and one measure of survival.

Some are used now to monitor cancer patients, and many companies are trying to develop versions of these for screening, as possible alternatives to mammograms, colonoscopies and other such tests.

[...] the Epstein-Barr virus is involved in most cases, so tests could hunt for viral DNA that tumors shed into the blood in large quantities, rather than rare bits of cancer cells themselves.

In May, Cirina merged with Grail Inc., a California company working on cancer screening blood tests with more than $1 billion from drug companies and big-name investors such as Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.