Researchers create possible blood test to detect breast cancer

A team of German doctors may have discovered a major potential breakthrough in detecting breast cancer.

The doctors possibly may have found a blood test that can help with early detection.

They're calling it a "liquid biopsy," and it's a noninvasive test which can detect breast cancer in the blood.

The doctors say it's a different method for finding out if a woman is suffering from breast cancer, by detecting if cancer is in the bloodstream before imaging picks it up.

It's not meant to replace conventional forms of diagnosis such as mammograms, ultrasounds, or MRIs.

"We are not a competition to imaging," Heidelberg University Hospital Dr. Christof Sohn said. "The detection rate is the same but that's not the issue. Ultimately, there are two completely different methods which must not be compared."

The study is ongoing and now researchers are studying the test's use for other cancer types including ovarian cancer.

The breast cancer blood test is expected to be marketed later this year.

FOX 5 reported this story from Atlanta.