Gold Standard?

Workers at Queensland University in Australia have reportedly developed a cheap 10 minute blood test with a 90% chance of demonstrating the presence of cancer cells in the body (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/dec/04/scientists-develop-10-minute-universal-cancer-test). Small amounts of cancer cells with their modified DNA appear in the blood. The cancer cell DNA has a different pattern of methyl groups from that found in normal cells, causing them to respond differently to gold nanoparticles added to the samples. This produces a distinctive difference in the colour of the suspensions with (remaining pink) and without (changing to blue) cancer cells. The test has, thus far, been carried out only on breast, prostate and colorectal sufferers but there is an intention to see what it does in other cancer groups. Although this screen does not tell the tester where the cancer is located or how problematic it is likely to be (these would require more detailed and traditional investigations), as a rapid test, it does seem to be a very promising development.