Early detection is vital if you want to beat cancer, says Dr Leigh Erin Connealy. Here’s her roundup of cutting-edge cancer diagnostics you should know about
A study published earlier this year in The Lancet Global Health determined that in 2022, nearly half of all cancer-related deaths worldwide were avoidable. Tragically, that’s almost 4.5 million lives that could have been saved.
Smoking, alcohol use, excess body weight, infections and exposure to ultraviolet radiation contributed to 33 percent of avoidable deaths, while a lack of early detection or curative treatments accounted for 14 percent of preventable deaths globally.1
It’s clear that early detection saves lives. But wading through the many different early detection tests available can make your head spin. Here’s a comprehensive guide that clearly explains which diagnostic tools are most accurate, how they work, what information they provide and why we use them regularly at the Cancer Center for Healing.
We recommend a bioimmune survey to every patient who comes through our doors. This fast, painless, noninvasive energetic assessment shows us how the body’s organs and systems are functioning together by evaluating energy flow through the body’s meridians (energy pathways).
The bioimmune survey identifies areas of stress, weakness and imbalance and reveals low-level infections, parasites, toxins, nutrient deficiencies and other early warning signs of cancer and other chronic conditions. It can detect these subtle changes months—even years—before symptoms appear and often provides these insights long before conventional lab tests show abnormalities.
By uncovering areas of imbalance, the bioimmune survey helps us determine what remedies will unblock each patient’s energy pathways.
Research Genetic Cancer Center (RGCC, rgcc-international.com), established in 2004, is a laboratory in Greece that provides top-of-the-line blood tests to screen for cancer, detect and monitor abnormal cell proliferation, and help prevent cancer recurrence.
RGCC liquid biopsies detect cancer in its earliest stages by determining levels of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cancer stem cells (CSCs). These individualized tests also provide critical insights into which types of chemotherapeutic and natural agents will be most effective for a patient’s specific cancer type and personalized cellular makeup.
Conventional oncological therapies like chemotherapy, surgery and radiation aren’t designed to eliminate CTCs and CSCs, which are responsible for most metastases and deaths from cancer. Here’s a potential scenario.
Suppose you have colorectal cancer. You have surgery to remove the 6-inch area of your colon where the tumor was located. Yes, the tumor has been removed. But without RGCC testing, it would be impossible to know whether any of the CTCs from that original tumor had broken off and migrated elsewhere in the body to find a new “home.” You haven’t fully eradicated the cancer until CTC and CSC levels are down to zero.
RGCC offers a full suite of tests, including the following.
Onco-D-Clare. This is a groundbreaking cancer screening test that analyzes DNA in the bloodstream to detect cancer at the earliest stages—even before symptoms appear. Onco-D-Clare can detect all types of cancer except for brain and central nervous system tumors.
It uses advanced liquid biopsy technology to analyze more than 90 genes and distinguish between normal and cancer-related samples. With a clinically validated accuracy of 93 percent, Onco-D-Clare is ideal for patients who have a family history of cancer or other risk factors and those who want to be proactive about cancer prevention.
Oncocount. The Oncocount test measures the level and concentration of CTCs in a patient’s blood, using advanced flow cytometry and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. It’s for patients who have already been diagnosed with cancer and want to monitor the effectiveness of their chosen treatment.
Oncocount gives practitioners key insights into how well their patients’ cancer therapies are working. This test is also useful as an early detection tool for cancer recurrence in patients in remission.
Oncotrace. Oncotrace measures the number of circulating cancer cells in a person’s blood and establishes a baseline for CTCs. It also reveals phenotype markers that show where the tumor originated, how it is progressing and how likely it is to metastasize, as well as therapies that may not work for that particular tumor type.
In addition, Oncotrace examines stemness markers that indicate the presence and regenerative potential of cancer stem cells. Even if CTC counts are low, these markers may indicate residual disease that requires further treatment.
Oncotrail. Oncotrail was designed to monitor and track the CTCs of specific cancer types. These include breast, colon, gastrointestinal, lung and prostate cancer along with melanoma and sarcoma. Oncotrail shows physicians how the cancer is progressing and determines the effectiveness and patient response to different treatments. It can also detect early signs of metastasis or relapse.
Oncotrail is ideal for patients with the specific cancers listed above who either are currently undergoing or have completed treatment.
Onconomics. Onconomics is a chemosensitivity liquid biopsy test designed to evaluate the effectiveness of different types of chemotherapies for each patient. Knowing which treatments will be most potent and effective before treatment begins takes the guesswork out of the equation, leading to scientifically supported therapy plans and better patient outcomes.
A similar test, Onconomics Extracts, identifies which natural substances are best for each patient. It groups the treatments into three categories: Class I: Cytotoxic agents, Class II: Immunostimulants, and Class III: PK inhibitors.
Onconomics Plus is a combination of these two tests that can reveal which chemotherapies, natural substances and targeted therapies will work most effectively. Ideal for patients seeking an integrative approach to cancer care, it also provides feedback on whether radiation therapy and hyperthermia are effective.
Another blood test our physicians regularly order is Signatera Molecular Residual Disease by the company Natera (natera.com/info/monitor-cancer). One of the newer tests currently available, it can detect the most minute traces of cancer in the blood, such as tiny pieces of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).
This test reveals whether treatments are working, cancer is present in the body after surgery or cancer has recurred. Signatera MRD is useful for patients with colorectal, breast, bladder, lung and ovarian cancers along with those who have solid tumor types.
When tissue biopsy is not an option or a viable sample can’t be collected, we may recommend the LiquidHALLMARK blood test by Lucence (lucence.com). This highly sensitive test detects ctDNA shed by dying cancer cells and ctRNA, which is released by living cancer cells.
With a single blood draw, it can reveal cancer-related cellular mutations and disease biomarkers. For qualifying patients in the US with advanced cancer, Medicare will often cover this test.
Blood tests aren’t the only diagnostics we use to catch cancer at the earliest stages. Several noninvasive, cutting-edge screening tools are also effective.
Ultrasound. Ultrasound is a phenomenal diagnostic tool that provides real-time, high-resolution imaging—without radiation. It can provide fast, crystal-clear images of organ structure and soft tissues and evaluate blood flow, circulation, and vascular health.
Ultrasound is also useful for distinguishing cysts from solid tumors because they have distinct echo patterns. The option of area-specific or full-body imaging, coupled with the safe, noninvasive nature of ultrasound, makes it a premier diagnostic option.
Whole-body MRI. Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become a popular screening tool in recent years. Companies such as Prenuvo (prenuvo.com) and Vista Health (vista-health.co.uk) are offering these scans directly to patients.
The powerful imaging technology uses magnetism and radio waves to generate clear images of the body’s soft tissues without exposing people to radiation. Whole-body MRIs can detect tumors and hundreds of other health concerns, from aneurysms and autoimmune disorders to fatty liver, ischemic changes, hernias and cysts early—before they become problematic.
QT Imaging. According to the World Health Organization’s latest statistics, 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer globally in 2022, and 670,000 succumbed to the disease.2 While mammography tends to be the gold standard in breast cancer diagnoses, the truth is that mammograms can be painful and traumatic. They expose patients to small doses of ionizing radiation with each scan, and they aren’t always accurate.
Per the National Institutes of Health, false positives are common, affecting roughly 10-12 percent of younger women and up to half of older women over a 10-year screening period. These false positive readings can lead to unnecessary fear and worry as well as invasive biopsies.
Mammograms are also less effective for women with dense breasts, which are common. Both tumors and dense breast tissue show up white in mammography, leading to more potential false positives or missed tumors.
Fortunately, a revolutionary diagnostic technology called quantitative transmission ultrasound, or QT Imaging, is giving women a safe, painless, FDA-cleared screening option. It uses sound waves to create a 3D image of the breast without compression or radiation. With more than 40 times an MRI’s standard resolution, QT imaging is offering patients and practitioners noninvasive alternatives to screen for and manage breast cancer.
Thermography. Another diagnostic tool we rely on heavily for breast cancer screenings is thermography. Safe and noninvasive, thermography uses infrared imaging technology to assess vascular and heat patterns in the breasts that may indicate cancer.
In addition to detecting abnormalities in the breasts, thermography tracks vascular (blood vessel) patterns. Veins often proliferate, creating new blood supplies to feed a tumor, which is why more extensive vein patterns may indicate a higher risk of cancer or the presence of cancer. To see examples of breast thermography and these venous patterns, visit mypinkimage.com.
PET scan. Patients are surprised that we sometimes recommend more traditional screening tools, such as PET scans. The reason we are more hesitant to recommend these scans is that they do give off radiation, 600 times that of a chest x-ray.
That said, they do serve a useful purpose. PET scans help assess disease progression and metastasis and are useful in patients with obstructions or contraindications to other screening tests.
One caveat: For a PET scan to be effective, the tumor or tumors must be large enough to be detected. The scan will miss very small tumors or CTCs.
All these tests can be a little confusing, but it’s important to work with an integrative physician who embraces a holistic approach to health and can talk you through the right tests for you as an individual. You can search for a practitioner via the American College for Advancement in Medicine (acam.org.) or the Institute for Functional Medicine (ifm.org). Or check out WDDTY’s guide to finding an integrative cancer care physician in the September 2024 issue.
When it comes to cancer detection and treatment, time is of the essence. The earlier cancer is discovered, typically the better the treatment outcomes.
Patients sometimes ask why we choose RGCC testing over the Galleri test from GRAIL. First, the Galleri tests primarily look at DNA shed from cancerous cells. While that’s one aspect of early detection, RGCC testing examines and assesses several biomarkers, including circulating tumor cells (CTCs), cancer stem cells (CSCs) and circulating cancer cellular markers.
These additional biomarkers give providers a complete picture of our patients’ cancer profiles. The RGCC tests are extremely sensitive and detect cancer at the earliest stages with a high degree of accuracy, resulting in fewer false positives and false negatives.
RGCC testing also goes a step further. It reveals which drugs, supplements and other treatments will be the most effective for each patient and determines potential resistance to certain medications.
While Galleri is on the newer side, RGCC testing has been used for decades. Multiple clinical studies validate its early detection of several cancers, including breast, lung, prostate and colorectal.
Finally, RCGG addresses multiple biomarkers in one blood test, reducing costs, streamlining the testing process and giving fast, accurate results. We find RGCC is the superior choice for early cancer screening, and we use and recommend it for all our patients to create a personalized, effective and cost-conscious treatment plan.3
Commonly overlooked cancer risk factors
Not every cancer risk factor is within our control, but some can be reduced or addressed through lifestyle and environmental choices. As a physician who has treated thousands of patients with cancer, these are some of the most overlooked contributors I encourage them to be aware of and investigate further whenever possible:
And here are a few practical ways to counter the modifiable risk factors:
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