New Delhi, September 18: Losing weight without any obvious reason can be a sign of several health problems. Now, a new study has found that changes over time in routine blood tests among such people may help in identifying cancer.
According to the study published in the journal PLOS Medicine, analysing changes in routine blood tests among patients experiencing unexplained weight loss could be useful in identifying potential cases of cancer. Researchers say this could help primary healthcare services identify patients who may need further cancer investigation.
The study specifically focused on patients experiencing Unexplained Weight Loss (UWL). Researchers found that instead of looking only at an abnormal result from a single blood test, understanding the changes in test results over different points in time may be more useful.
However, researchers also clarified that an abnormality in a blood test does not directly mean that a person has cancer. Factors such as age and sex can also affect blood test results. Therefore, these two factors need to be considered when interpreting test results before referring patients for further cancer investigation.
According to researchers, adjusting blood test results based on age and sex may help in prioritising patients for cancer investigation.
This approach could be particularly useful for primary healthcare centres and general practitioners because the number of patients experiencing unexplained weight loss can be considerable, and it may not be practical to immediately conduct extensive cancer investigations for every patient.
The study's findings suggest that if doctors monitor changes between a patient's older and newer routine blood tests, some patients who may need further investigation could potentially be identified earlier.
Important: Unexplained weight loss can also occur due to several non-cancer-related causes. Therefore, cancer cannot be diagnosed solely on the basis of weight loss or changes in blood tests. Medical advice and further investigation, as needed, are important.
