Blood test may replace mammograms

Mammograms could soon be consigned to the past after a new blood test was developed to check for signs of breast cancer.

Experts in England are in the final stages of creating the “warning sign” DNA test which, it is claimed, may be better at picking up risk factors earlier than mammograms, x-rays and other examinations.

The potential breakthrough, which is being funded by Cancer Research UK, and is being trialed at Charing Cross Hospital in London, works by comparing the DNA in blood samples from women who go on to develop breast cancer with those who are healthy.