Did you catch last month’s blog – ‘What Can Blood Tests Tell Us About Our Bodies?‘ We explored several ways blood tests can help identify issues when inflammation, infection, and internal bleeding are present. Blood tests can also help detect diseases by assessing abnormal hormone levels and blood cell counts in the body. But can blood tests detect cancer? This is a frequent question doctors are asked by patients. When beginning to identify any areas of concern, your doctor will take one of the first steps to send you for a blood test. This will give them a closer look at what’s going on inside your body. But can blood tests identify cancer cells in the body? Read on for a closer look at what blood tests can detect to help doctors make an accurate cancer diagnosis.

Complete Blood Count

When doctors are concerned about cancer’s possible presence, they may send you for something called a complete blood count. These blood tests may show cancer cells, proteins, or other abnormal substances created only with the presence of cancer in the body. A complete blood count palette will allow your doctor to determine whether you have an abnormal blood count of either too many or too few blood cells. This can help doctors diagnose various blood cancers – and furthermore, send you for a bone marrow biopsy to clarify an accurate diagnosis.

Blood Protein Testing

A blood protein test is a standard test used to determine several protein abnormalities present in the body when your immune system is compromised. These immune system proteins are detected in people with multiple myeloma – and tend to be elevated – giving doctors a clear signal of this severe condition in the body. A referral for a bone marrow biopsy will be the next step in confirming this diagnosis.

Tumour Marker Tests

As the name suggests, a tumour marker test is an analysis used to detect chemicals in the blood created by present and active tumours. However, tumour markers can also be made by normal cells in the body! Levels of tumour markers can even be highly elevated in noncancerous conditions – causing anxiety and fear without the presence of a real threat. This is one reason tumour marker tests are not relied upon when making a confirmed diagnosis of cancer. The potential for tumour marker tests has been limited with controversy on whether it is a helpful test to diagnose cancers. Further testing would be required to confirm a diagnosis of cancer after this test is performed.

Examples of some tumour marker tests include cancers such as liver, thyroid, prostate, ovarian, and testicular.

Book Your Blood Test with InfoRouge

As a whole, there is not one specific blood test that can confirm a cancer diagnosis. However, it can help plan a further in-depth analysis for more clarification. If you are concerned about your health, ask your doctor for a blood test requisition form. Once you have your papers, InfoRouge is here to help. You can book an at-home blood test and have our experienced nurses come to you, or you can book a blood test in our private Westmount clinic. We aim to have your results within 24 hours. For more information, visit inforouge.com today!