Blood DNA screen false positives rose with age
False-positive rates rose from 0.3% below age 60 to 7.5% at 80 or older in an analysis of whole-blood samples.
Our read
Biomarkers- Studied:
- Preprint: cross-sectional study of people without known myeloid disease, against adults below age 60
- What changed:
- False-positive rates rose from 0.3% below age 60 to 7.5% at 80 or older
- The catch:
- The screen's ability to detect disease before diagnosis was not measured
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
People without known myeloid disease, a group of blood and bone marrow disorders, were represented by 917 samples across three cohorts in a pre-specified public-data analysis. The proposed cancer screen measured DNA methylation, chemical marks on DNA. Positive calls occurred in 1.9% of samples at ages 60–69 and 2.5% at 70–79. On repeat sampling, six of 17 positive blood draws remained positive after a median 5.6 years.
The researchers also modeled screening in people with clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, a condition involving expanded groups of blood cells with acquired mutations. The model predicted near-zero net benefit in unselected adults aged 60 or older, but positive net benefit in carriers of this condition.
Why it matters
For blood-cancer screening in older adults, the authors proposed focusing on known carriers of this blood-cell condition: a repeat blood draw to confirm a positive result, then a specialist blood-disorder evaluation.
Caveats
The cohorts without known myeloid disease could estimate false positives, but not how well the screen detects disease before diagnosis. The modeled benefits depended on assumed detection performance, and the preprint has not been peer-reviewed.
- Repeat blood draw
- Whole-blood DNA methylation burden screening
- DNA methylation
- Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential
- Myeloid neoplasm
- Humans
The paper
Alercell
Research Square, Nov 12, 2026, Open access, Preprint, not yet peer-reviewed
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