Two research studies presented during the recently held American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto point to diagnostic tests for lung cancer: a blood test for accurately detecting lung cancer in its early stages, and a genetic test to predict the likelihood that cancer would recur in patients whose non-small cell lung cancer has been surgically removed.

The blood test for detecting lung cancer is based on the gene expression of white blood cells. A 15-gene array has been found to have the highest accuracy, at 87 percent. The test for predicting the likelihood of cancer recurrence was based on five survival gene signatures found in 21 patients.

The accuracy of the tested signatures ranged from 40 to 80 percent and varied with the type of tumor. A 42-gene signature, for instance, was 82 percent accurate in predicting survival with lung adenocarcinoma, but only 70 percent accurate in predicting survival with squamous cell carcinoma.