Israeli blood test detects early breast cancer with 95% accuracy

An international team led by Weizmann Institute and Hebrew University researchers has developed an experimental blood test that detects early-stage breast cancer with 95% accuracy for localized tumors under two centimeters. The test, published in Nature, also predicts recurrence risk with 81% accuracy, outperforming conventional biopsies.

An international team led by researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has developed an experimental blood test that detects early-stage breast cancer with 95% accuracy for localized tumors under two centimeters. The test, published in Nature on Wednesday, also outperforms conventional tissue biopsies in assessing the risk of recurrence after treatment. The study grew out of a collaboration between Dr. Efrat Shema's lab at Weizmann, Hebrew University's Prof. Guy Ron, and physicians at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot, with researchers from France, Germany, Italy, and the United States. The scientists mapped breast tumors' epigenetics and discovered an aggressive group of cells hiding among less harmful cancer cells. The test uses fluorescent antibodies and high-resolution microscopy to analyze nucleosomes in blood samples, with AI models distinguishing between cancer patients and healthy controls. The test achieved 81% accuracy in predicting recurrence, even flagging risk in patients considered low risk by conventional measures. The article notes that about 4,500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Israel each year, and about 900 die of the disease.