A blood test to diagnose leukemia

Amos Tanay and Liran Shlush
Amos Tanay (left) and Liran Shlush

Cancer is a complicated disease. It’s not one but many, and as such leaves various bio-evidence behind after it starts wreaking havoc on our body. Some cancers, but not all, can be detected by a blood test. My dad’s cancer, when it started as prostate, was detectable in a PSA test, but only when the cancer had progressed to stage 4. By the time he had developed another type of cancer, liver cancer, it was not detectable in the blood. Doctors gave him tests, said the pain isn’t cancer, and we waited for an MRI to find muscle or bone damage. The MRI found the cancer.

But scans, biopsies, waiting for biomarkers for specific tests have risks. Waiting “too long” makes dealing with cancer harder. So an easier blood test that can find cancers such as leukemia in the blood would be a godsend. New research published in the prestigious journal Nature, reports on it. The test is on aging and there are a range of applications making it possibly part of an arsenal by blood biohackers looking to live forever.

Related: Is our diet feeding a cancer causing bacteria?

What if a blood test could reveal the pace of our aging – and the diseases that may lie ahead? The labs of Profs. Liran Shlush and Amos Tanay at the Weizmann Institute of Science have been conducting in-depth studies into the biology of blood to better understand the aging process and why some people become more susceptible to disease over the years.
Their research teams, made up of physicians, biologists and data scientists, have been tracking changes in the blood-forming stem cells, including the emergence of genetic changes in these cells in about one-third of people over the age of 40. These changes not only increase the risk of blood cancers such as leukemia, but have also been linked to heart disease, diabetes and other age-related conditions.
In a new study published this month in Nature Medicine Shlush and Tanay present findings that may lead to an innovative blood test for detecting a person’s risk of developing leukemia. This test may potentially replace the invasive, painful and invasive test of bone marrow sampling.
The study focused on myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), an age-related condition in which blood stem cells fail to properly mature into functional blood cells. Diagnosing MDS and assessing its severity is crucial, as it can lead to severe anemia and may progress to acute myeloid leukemia, one of the most common blood cancers in adults. Until now, diagnosis has relied on bone marrow sampling, a procedure that requires local anesthesia and can cause discomfort or pain.
The findings are already being tested in a large-scale clinical trial at several medical centers around the world
In the new study, a research team led by Dr. Nili Furer, Nimrod Rappoport and Oren Milman, in collaboration with physicians and researchers the scientists showed that rare blood stem cells – which occasionally exit the bone marrow and enter the bloodstream – carry diagnostic information about MDS.
The researchers demonstrated that with a simple blood test and advanced single-cell genetic sequencing, it is possible to identify early signs of the syndrome and even assess a person’s risk of developing blood cancer. Could this info spur a person to eat better, exercise more regularly and avoid cancer altogether?
The researchers also discovered that the migrating stem cells can serve as a clock for our chronological age, and that in males, their population changes earlier than in women in a way that increases the risk of cancer. This finding may explain the higher prevalence of blood cancers among men. The scientists believe that using the test to diagnose MDS and leukemia is only the beginning, and that in the future it could be applied to a range of other blood-related disorders. The current findings are already being tested in a large-scale clinical trial at several medical centers around the world.
Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloostermanhttp://www.greenprophet.com
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist, innovation strategist, and founder of Green Prophet, one of the Middle East’s pioneering sustainability platforms. She has ranked in the Top 10 of Verizon innovation competitions, participated in NASA-linked challenges, and spoken worldwide on climate, food security, and future resilience. With an IoT technology patent, features in Canada’s National Post, and leadership inside teams building next-generation agricultural and planetary systems — including Mars-farming concepts — Karin operates at the intersection of storytelling, science, and systems change. She doesn’t report on the future – she helps design it. Reach out directly to [email protected]

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

TRENDING

Oil pollution in Basrah’s soil is 1,200% higher than it should be

Soil pollution levels in parts of Basra are 1,200% to 3,300% higher than those typically measured in cities like Toronto or New York, according to new comparative soil data. It's getting into water.

Factors That Determine the Payout of Asbestos Cases

Asbestos is found in eye shadow and talc. Know your rights of this deadly environmental hazard.

Mini medical machines destroy pancreas cancer cells in new study

The idea of using MENPs to wirelessly control local electric fields was first proposed by Khizroev and Liang in 2011. Over the past decade, the concept evolved through global research partnerships and technological breakthroughs, culminating in this study.

Can Herpes Kill Cancer? A Modified Virus Offers New Hope for Skin Cancer Patients

So, can herpes kill cancer? Not the kind you catch on a bad date. But a lab-modified version of the virus might just save lives, turning a once-feared pathogen into a new kind of precision weapon in oncology.

Why Scientists Don’t Make Predictions: The Funding Politics of Aging Research

"A great ass-covering way to say no is to say, 'Well, this person said something irresponsible on television,'" de Grey explains. "Whether or not the thing they said on television actually was irresponsible, if it could be characterized as irresponsible, like over-promising and under-delivering or getting the public's hopes up or whatever, then that's good enough."

Qatar’s climate hypocrisy rides the London Underground

Qatar remains a master of doublethink—burning gas by the megaton while selling “sustainability” to a world desperate for clean air. Wake up from your slumber people.

How Quality of Hire Shapes Modern Recruitment

A 2024 survey by Deloitte found that 76% of talent leaders now consider long-term retention and workforce contribution among their most important hiring success metrics—far surpassing time-to-fill or cost-per-hire. As the expectations for new hires deepen, companies must also confront the inherent challenges in redefining and accurately measuring hiring quality.

8 Team-Building Exercises to Start the Week Off 

Team building to change the world! The best renewable energy companies are ones that function.

Thank you, LinkedIn — and what your Jobs on the Rise report means for sustainable careers

While “green jobs” aren’t always labeled as such, many of the fastest-growing roles are directly enabling the energy transition, climate resilience, and lower-carbon systems: Number one on their list is Artificial Intelligence engineers. But what does that mean? Vibe coding Claude? 

Somali pirates steal oil tankers

The pirates often stage their heists out of Somalia, a lawless country, with a weak central government that is grappling with a violent Islamist insurgency. Using speedboats that swarm the targets, the machine-gun-toting pirates take control of merchant ships and then hold the vessels, crew and cargo for ransom.

Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López Turned Ocean Plastic Into Profitable Sunglasses

Few fashion accessories carry the environmental burden of sunglasses. Most frames are constructed from petroleum-based plastics and acrylic polymers that linger in landfills for centuries, shedding microplastics into soil and waterways long after they've been discarded. Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López, president of the Spanish eyewear brand Hawkers, saw this problem differently than most industry executives.

Why Dr. Tony Jacob Sees Texas Business Egos as Warning Signs

Everything's bigger in Texas. Except business egos.  Dr. Tony Jacob figured...

Israel and America Sign Renewable Energy Cooperation Deal

Other announcements made at the conference include the Timna Renewable Energy Park, which will be a center for R&D, and the AORA Solar Thermal Module at Kibbutz Samar, the world's first commercial hybrid solar gas-turbine power plant that is already nearing completion. Solel Solar Systems announced it was beginning construction of a 50 MW solar field in Lebrija, Spain, and Brightsource Energy made a pre-conference announcement that it had inked the world's largest solar deal to date with Southern California Edison (SCE).

Related Articles

Popular Categories