Picking up the early signs of lung and breast could be a simple case of undergoing a blood test, researchers in the US have claimed.
New findings produced by scientists at the Kansas State University, have pointed to the potential of a procedure that sees the prospective patient's blood mixed with dye and certain amino acids.
The result should then be indicated in the data, with cancers producing a specific pattern or signature which the enzyme patterns help to distinguish.
To verify the accuracy of their research, the team tested the method on 32 participants at various stages of the disease, while 12 people with no form of cancer were tested as a control group.
The analysis highlighted a 95 per cent success rate for detection, with the team behind the system now planning to develop a system to help detect bowel cancer.
Professor Deryl Troyer, one of those behind the new method said: 'We see this as the first step into a new arena of investigation that could eventually lead to improved early detection of human cancers.'
The findings come days after data from Cancer Research UK pointed to a notable drop in death rates among those with the disease over the next 18 years.