• Question: Are there special genetic differences between a benign tumor and metastatic cancer that we could test for?

    Asked by rockpeacepunk to Alexander, Josh, Serena, Simone, Stuart on 21 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Stuart Archer

      Stuart Archer answered on 21 Jun 2013:

      In general, yes, there are detectable genetic differences between cancerous and non-cancerous cells. For example, we can test for bowel cancer by testing for certain genetic markers in the tumor to determine whether it is benign or malignant. Sadly though, this is not true for all cancers as we understand them at the moment.

      Metastasis is when a cancer cell spreads from it’s original tumor into other parts of the body – we don’t do genetic tests for that, you can detect that using scans such as an MRI scan or even an X-Ray in some cases. The genetic test is used to determine whether a tumor is benign (one which doesn’t undergo metastasis) or malignant (one that does). There is a huge amount of research going into the genetics of cancer at the minute, so it’s only a matter of time before we really start to unlock the mechanisms behind what causes cancer.

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