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Cancer blood tests are one of the many tools that healthcare providers use to diagnose and stage malignancies (cancerous growths). These tests can provide valuable information about your overall health, organ function and potential disease. But you’ll need additional tests to get a full understanding of your diagnosis.
Blood tests are one of the many ways that healthcare providers diagnose, stage and manage cancer. But in most cases, you’ll need more than blood tests for an official diagnosis.
Healthcare providers categorize cancer blood tests into four main types:
Complete blood count (CBC). A CBC can detect some blood or immune system cancers like leukemia and lymphoma. But it can’t detect solid organ cancers like lung, breast or colon cancers. It can tell your provider how your body responds to treatment and whether the cancer has spread to your bone marrow.
Tumor marker blood tests. These tests identify certain chemicals released into your bloodstream every day. High levels of these chemicals in the blood can be a sign of cancer. The CA-125 blood test is one common tumor marker test commonly used to plan treatment and check for the recurrence of certain cancers (like ovarian and pancreatic). The PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test is a tumor marker test that checks for high levels of PSA in your blood. PSA is a protein your prostate makes. Elevated levels might indicate prostate cancer.
Blood protein tests. These tests check for abnormal protein levels in your blood. High protein levels could point to certain types of cancer (mostly blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma). Some tests, like a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), include a total protein test by default, which can also provide this information.
Circulating tumor cell (CTC) tests. This is a type of liquid biopsy that checks your blood for cancer. It detects tiny pieces of tumors that break off and circulate in your bloodstream. Providers use this cancer blood test to predict outcomes in people with metastatic breast, prostate or colon cancers. A low level of CTCs, or undetectable CTCs, in your blood, indicates a favorable outcome. Too many CTCs in your blood are a sign of an unfavorable outcome or might indicate a need for additional treatment.
Most cancers don’t show up in routine blood work. But there are specialized blood tests that can detect early-stage cancers in some people:
The Galleri test: This specific type of blood test can detect over 50 different types of cancer. It uses DNA sequencing to find unique patterns, which may tell your provider whether you have cancer and where it started.
Proteomics-based plasma test: One 2024 research study found that a new blood test may show promise for the early detection of 18 different types of cancer. (Proteomics is the study of cell proteins and how they work.) In this study of 440 individuals, the test detected 93% of Stage I cancers in men and people assigned male at birth (AMAB)and 84% of Stage I cancers in women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB). Researchers need to run more studies, but this blood test could become a standard for cancer diagnosis.
Results of these tests must be interpreted cautiously, and implications for further testing and treatment must be discussed with a qualified healthcare provider.
Many early-stage cancers are infamously difficult to diagnose. But routine cancer screenings can help detect certain types of cancer before you develop symptoms. Ask your healthcare provider about age-appropriate screenings to help keep your health in check.
