WEDNESDAY, June 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- A new AI-driven blood test could improve detection of liver cancer, which is one of the most fatal cancers because early diagnosis is difficult. The test looks for “fusion genes” -- two different genes that have become bound together, producing proteins that can lead to cancer. A test for four specific fusion-gene combinations was 83% to 91% accurate in predicting the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer, researchers reported recently in the American Journal of Pathology .
Accuracy increased to 95% when researchers combined a two fusion-gene search with an existing liver cancer screen that assesses the presence of alpha-fetal protein in the blood. Liver cancers release alpha-fetal protein into the bloodstream, but that screening tool on its own is not always accurate, researchers explained. “The fusion gene machine-learning model significantly improves the early detection rate of HCC over the serum alpha-fetal protein alone,” said lead researcher Dr.
Jian-Hua Luo , a professor of pathology with the Pittsburgh Liver Research Center. “It may serve as an important tool in screening for HCC and in monitoring the impact of HCC treatment,” Luo added in a center news release. “This test will find patients who are likely to have HCC.
” Up to 60% of liver cancers are only diagnosed in advanced stages, resulting in a survival rate of just 20%, researchers said in background notes. .
