Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and certainly here in the UK. Of all the leading causes of death, it is perhaps the one that modern medicine perhaps knows the least about preventing its occurrence. Cancer screening plays a big part in preventing cancer related deaths as it aims to catch cancer at a much earlier stage when it is likely to be more treatable. Screening however is not perfect either for many reasons. A novel blood test called Trucheck™, is able to detect the presence of tumour cells in your blood and can detect the presence of cancer much earlier than conventional screening on many occasions.
Understanding the Principles of Cancer Screening
Any time you get any form of cancer screening done, it is important to understand that they are not perfect. What we want in a theoretically perfect test is, for it to correctly pick up all cases of a condition while also correctly identifying the people who don’t have the condition in question. To describe the quality of a screening test, we use certain terms which are important to understand at a basic level.
| Sensitivity | Specificity | |
| Mammograms (breast cancer) | 85% | 90% |
| Cervical smear test (cervical cancer) | 98% | 87% |
| FIT stool test (bowel cancer) | 94% | 91% |
| PSA test for prostate cancer | 93% | 20% |
Trucheck™ technology and advantages
- Trucheck™ detects circulating tumour cells (CTCs) and clusters of these CTCs which are released by malignant tumours, but not from non-cancerous (normal / benign tumour / inflammatory) tissue. Hence CTCs are ubiquitously seen in blood of cancer patients but absent in blood of healthy individuals.
- In clinical studies, Trucheck™ has a sensitivity of 88% in the detection of cancer at all stages and types. Further Trucheck™ intelli has an accuracy of 96% in determining the tissue or organ of origin in positive cases.
- Real-world data has shown a sensitivity, depending on the tumor, of 65% – 89% and a specificity of 96% – 99%.
- In contrast to traditional cancer screening for a single cancer at a time, TrucheckTM can identify multiple cancer types via a simple blood draw that may be undetectable by present technologies.
- Trucheck™ intelli can distinguish ~70 types of solid tumours which account for ~81% of all cancer cases and ~84% of all cancer related deaths in Europe.
- Trucheck™ detects cancers irrespective of the extent of the disease, thus even early-stage cancers are reliably observed.
- The test has been developed, tested and validated on > 40.000 individuals.
Trucheck™ is particulary recommended for …
Asymptomatic individuals who have a family history of cancer.
Individuals who want to include this test in their yearly check-up.
Asymptomatic individuals who have a high risk of cancer.
Our verdict
Given the limited capacity of modern medicine to beat cancer entirely with current technologies, our best chance is to ensure we are picking cancer up early with screening tests. The TruCheckTM is a really good test at reassuring you that you don’t have cancer given its high specificity. Importantly, it highlights that screening effectively for cancer involves clinical assessment of symptoms and signs of concern as well as such testing. Always speak to your doctor if you have any symptoms that are persistent and concerning.
Screening for cancer forms a big part of our longevity strategies with our patients, however such tests can be an ordeal both physically (less so for a blood test like TruCheck) and psychologically, so it is important to consider whether the test is right for you. We always counsel our patients so that they understand the risk benefit balance of getting screening like this. For some people it can be too much to cope with the uncertainty, whereas for some it can be exactly what they need for reassurance.
Contact us at Agami Health to discuss getting the TruCheckTM test or arrange a free initial consultation to discuss how we can help you in your journey towards health, wellbeing and longevity.