PERSPECTIVE
Could a blood test find a precursor to ovarian cancer before an invasive tumor forms? In a November 10 Nature Medicine study, researchers measured Tu-Stroma, a long noncoding RNA carried in tiny particles released by cells. It was elevated in women with a microscopic fallopian tube lesion that can precede high-grade serous ovarian cancer. In a separate validation group, Hoag reported that the assay picked up 92.3% of precursor cases and correctly identified 98.2% of healthy controls.
Some multicancer blood tests look for methylation, chemical marks on DNA fragments circulating in blood. Tu-Stroma measures RNA associated with how early abnormal cells interact with nearby tissue. For diagnostics developers, it offers a way to look for changes that precede an invasive tumor.
The study used stored samples from women whose diagnoses were already known. Prospective studies will need to show how often the signal picks up a lesion, how many false positives it produces, and whether it can inform decisions for women at elevated inherited risk.