# Detection and localization of early- and late-stage cancers using platelet RNA

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-thromboseq-cancer-cell-2022/  
OnCo record `paper-thromboseq-cancer-cell-2022` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Dutch researchers showed that the RNA inside blood platelets changes when cancer is present, enough to detect 18 cancer types in a laboratory comparison, though people with other illnesses often tested falsely positive.

## Summary

In 't Veld and colleagues used tumour-educated platelet RNA sequencing (thromboSeq) to detect 18 cancer types. At 99% specificity in asymptomatic controls it detected cancer in two-thirds of 1,096 samples from patients with stage I to IV cancer and in half of 352 stage I to III tumours. Symptomatic controls, including inflammatory and cardiovascular disease and benign tumours, had more false positives, with an average specificity of 78%. The tumour site of origin was correct in over 80% for five tumour types.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-10-29
- Journal: Cancer Cell
- Year: 2022
- DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2022.08.006
- Authors: In 't Veld SGJG, Arkani M, Post E, et al.
- Findings: Two-thirds of 1,096 stage I to IV samples detected at 99% specificity in asymptomatic controls.; Half of 352 stage I to III tumours detected.; Specificity fell to 78% in people with other illnesses.
- What it means: A different source of signal, the platelets, with the warning every multi-cancer test faces: people who are ill with something else are more often flagged wrongly.
- Caveats: Case-control; no screening cohort.; Specificity 78% in symptomatic controls.

## Sources

- Cancer Cell 2022: thromboSeq: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2022.08.006
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36055228/

## Connected records

- fronts: [Early Detection & Screening](https://onco.cc/fronts/early-detection/)
- technologies: [Multi-cancer early detection (MCED)](https://onco.cc/technologies/mced/), [RNA sequencing & expression profiling](https://onco.cc/technologies/rna-seq/)
- drugs: [thromboSeq (tumour-educated platelet RNA)](https://onco.cc/drugs/thromboseq/)
- institutions: [Amsterdam UMC / Cancer Center Amsterdam](https://onco.cc/institutions/amsterdam-umc/)
- journals: [Cancer Cell](https://onco.cc/journals/cancer-cell/)

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