蜜芽传媒

New research is underway in the UK to find out whether simple blood tests can be used to prevent unnecessary cancer treatments.

The UK research is looking specifically at people recovering from bowel cancer and whether blood tests can determine whether they need follow up chemotherapy.

Many patients can be cured by surgery alone but chemotherapy is often used to mop up any cancer that may remain. It's not always necessary and knowing for sure could allow patients to avoid chemotherapy's unpleasant and sometimes harmful side effects.

Multiple studies into so-called "liquid biopsy" show that blood tests can reveal the lingering presence of cancer long before it would be found using traditional methods. The growing wealth of knowledge adds to hope for better treatments of various cancers.

Prof Peter Johnson of NHS England explains how the blood tests work.

(Photo: Close up of the process of taking blood samples from a patient in a modern medical laboratory. Credit: Getty Images)