Early Screening by Blood Tests can Identify Future Occurrences of Cancer

New research by Yale SOM’s Arthur J. Swersey, using decision analysis techniques, finds that increasing the number of biopsy needles and using probability modeling to analyze the results can help prevent unnecessary treatment while identifying dangerous cancers. Along with colleagues from Yale School of Medicine, the Cleveland Clinic, Prognos, the University of Iowa, and Indiana University, Swersey created a simulation of the biopsy process and eventually found that a correctly performed biopsy, combined with proper analysis, could substantially improve the chances of accurately distinguishing insignificant from significant cancers.