A new artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced liquid biopsy could reshape lung cancer screening and early detection efforts in Malaysia, offering a less invasive alternative to traditional diagnostic methods.
Media site, CodeBlue had reported that the technology, introduced by the Lung Cancer Network Malaysia (LCNM), utilises circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis to detect lung cancer with a reported sensitivity and specificity exceeding 90 percent. The test, which requires only a 10-milliliter blood sample, employs next-generation sequencing and multi-modal AI to identify tumor-derived DNA fragments in the bloodstream.
The introduction of this advanced liquid biopsy comes at a critical time. Lung cancer remains a major public health challenge in Asia, accounting for more than 60 percent of global cases and deaths annually.
In Malaysia, it is the second most prevalent cancer among men and the third among women, according to the Malaysian National Cancer Registry (2017-2021). It remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men, while only breast cancer claims more lives among women.
LCNM has welcomed the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) proposed Lung Health Initiative (LHI), aimed at improving early detection, but Dr. Anand emphasised the importance of strategic execution to ensure long-term impact.
Since 2019, LCNM has led efforts to improve lung cancer screening, initially through low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) imaging and, more recently, through AI-powered chest radiography to identify high-risk individuals. The organisation’s findings indicate that people are more willing to undergo chest X-rays than LDCT scans as an initial screening step.
Beyond early detection, reducing the time between diagnosis and treatment is vital for improving survival rates.
The AI-powered liquid biopsy could be especially useful for individuals with abnormal chest X-ray findings, providing a non-invasive means of detecting molecular markers of lung cancer. This is especially relevant given the increasing incidence of lung cancer among never-smokers, predominantly women, both globally and in Malaysia.
With healthcare costs rising, early detection could also help ease the financial burden of treating late-stage lung cancer, which is often more expensive and less likely to be curative.
LCNM remains optimistic that the Ministry of Health has conducted the necessary workforce and infrastructure planning and has secured adequate funding to support large-scale screening initiatives.
