New Delhi, June 28
A team of Israeli and US researchers have developed a simple blood test that can detect a person's risk of developing leukaemia -- a deadly blood cancer.
In the study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers suggested that this test may replace the current more invasive method of bone marrow sampling used to diagnose certain blood cancers, news agency reported.
The team led by researchers from Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel focused on myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) -- an age-related condition in which blood-forming stem cells do not develop properly.
MDS can lead to severe anaemia and may progress to acute myeloid leukaemia, one of the most common types of blood cancer in adults.
Currently, diagnosing MDS requires the bone marrow sampling procedure that involves local anaesthesia and can cause significant discomfort and pain.
The team discovered that rare stem cells, which occasionally leave the bone marrow and enter the bloodstream, carry crucial information about early signs of MDS.
Using advanced single-cell genetic sequencing, they were able to analyse these cells from a standard blood sample and detect warning signs of disease.
The researchers also found that these circulating stem cells can act like a biological "clock," offering insights into a person's chronological age.