The test has already been tested on 1,005 confirmed patients with cancers of the ovary, liver, stomach, pancreas, oesophagus, colon, lung or breast. 70% of the cancers were successfully detected. For some types of cancer, the tissue-of-origin was also identified.

At the moment, the CancerSEEK is being tested on people undiagnosed with cancer. This stage would really be the measure of its effectivity.

“A significant amount of further research is needed before we can even contemplate how this might play out in screening settings,” said Dr. Mangesh Thorat of the Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for Cancer Prevention. “This is only a case-control study, and therefore needs further evaluation in large cohorts more representative of general population where such screening might be introduced.”

Despite being still in its early stages, CancerSEEK has made scientist hopeful. Dr Gert Attard of the London’s Centre for Evolution and Cancer at the Institute of Cancer Research expressed his excitement for the project. “This is the Holy Grail – a blood test to diagnose cancer without all the other procedures like scans or colonoscopy.”

The proposed cost of CancerSEEK is less than $500 per patient, around the same price as a colonoscopy. If the project reaches success, scientists hope that people would have themselves tested annually.