New blood test can detect cancer years before symptoms show
A team at Mass General Brigham has developed HPV-DeepSeek, a new blood test that can detect HPV-related head and neck cancers up to 10 years before symptoms appear.
Since HPV causes about 70% of head and neck cancers in the US and there's never been routine screening for these, this could be a real game changer.
How it works
HPV-DeepSeek looks for tiny fragments of HPV tumor DNA floating in your blood.
At the time of diagnosis, it's almost perfectly accurate—99% sensitivity and specificity.
Even years before cancer shows up, it found the virus with 79% sensitivity and no false alarms.
Machine learning boosts early detection
By adding machine learning, researchers pushed detection to as early as 10 years out with 96% sensitivity—a record lead time for this kind of test.
They're now running bigger studies to confirm these results before doctors start using it widely.
Early detection means easier treatment
Right now, most people only find out they have these cancers after symptoms hit, which means tougher treatments and more lasting side effects.
If used routinely, this test could help catch cancer much earlier—giving patients a shot at easier treatment and better quality of life down the road.