As we get older, our risk of suffering from different diseases may be higher than before. Among them, cancer is notorious. At the same time, everyone starts to pay attention to the items of the medical examination package or talk about which medical examination center is better.
What factors do middle-aged people need to consider when choosing a physical examination item?
With the advancement of science and technology, cancer screening using "next-generation DNA sequencing technology" can bring more accurate results. Did you know?
Read the selection tips below now!
Entering middle age, various health problems begin to emerge, and it becomes very important to conduct a physical examination to understand your own health.
Before purchasing a physical examination package, we should first recognize personal needs and consider different factors, including age, gender, personal and family medical history, etc., before we can choose the most suitable physical examination item from the plethora of physical examination items.
In addition, we should pay attention to cardiovascular health and regularly monitor whether there are "three highs": high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol to reduce the risk of related diseases.
Finally, cancer screening is also a key item of physical examination.
Of the total deaths in Hong Kong in 2019, deaths due to cancer accounted for 30.5%⁽¹⁾, which shows that the threat of cancer cannot be ignored.
Therefore, we should add cancer screening as one of the regular physical examination items.
In addition to lung cancer, colorectal cancer and breast cancer that we are familiar with, nasopharyngeal cancer also poses a certain threat.
According to data from the Hong Kong Cancer Information and Statistics Center, nasopharyngeal cancer is a cancer with a high incidence of middle-aged people. Compared with other common cancers, such as colorectal cancer and lung cancer, the median age of onset (about 70 years old⁽¹⁾) is earlier.
In the past 10 years, nasopharyngeal cancer has been one of the five most common cancers among men aged 45 to 64⁽²⁾, and the median age of women suffering from nasopharyngeal cancer is also biased toward middle-aged age (only 54 years⁽³⁾).
Since some common symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma are similar to the symptoms of colds and nasal allergies, they are easily overlooked by patients. 80% of patients are already in the advanced stage when they are first diagnosed. This makes the treatment process difficult.
This shows that early screening for nasopharyngeal cancer is an urgent task for middle-aged people, regardless of whether they are men or women.
Selection of nasopharyngeal cancer tests to dismantle old and new technologies
There are currently three types of nasopharyngeal cancer blood tests on the market. Although they have similar names, the sensitivity and false positive rate of the tests are quite different. The detailed data are as follows:
Traditional nasopharyngeal cancer tests include the "EB virus DNA quantitative test" and the "EB virus serological test", which respectively test the EB virus DNA content and the EB virus antibody level present in the subject.
Although scientific research points out that Epstein-Barr virus infection is closely related to nasopharyngeal carcinoma, in fact Epstein-Barr virus infection is very common. Even if the presence of Epstein-Barr virus or antibodies is detected, it does not necessarily mean that the subject has nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
This untargeted test method can bias the test results to a certain extent. The false positive rate of the "EB virus serology test" can even be as high as 40%⁽⁶⁾⁽⁷⁾ (that is, every 100 normal subjects , 40 people were wrongly judged as positive, but in fact they are not sick).
Such "misjudgments" undoubtedly cause worries for the subjects and their families, or make them bear the extra cost of inspection and the spirit to deal with this uncertainty.
Take2 Prophecy™ early nasopharyngeal cancer screening adopts a new technology developed by a top university in Hong Kong, through the use of PCR and next-generation DNA sequencing technology (NGS: Next-generation Sequencing), for the detection of DNA with characteristics of nasopharyngeal cancer in the blood , And use advanced calculation methods for analysis to accurately identify early-stage nasopharyngeal cancer patients; greatly advance the diagnosis time, which will help patients start treatment as soon as possible and increase the chance of successful cure.
This new technology has passed large-scale clinical verification⁽⁴⁾, not only the sensitivity is greater than 97%⁽⁴⁾⁽⁵⁾, the false positive rate is also as low as 0.7%⁽⁵⁾, and the result is more accurate and reliable.
Convenient and fast non-invasive testing
Early nasopharyngeal cancer screening is a non-invasive project, and the entire procedure is very simple. The tester only needs to receive a blood draw (no need to fast or stop taking commonly used drugs before screening) and wait three to seven working days for results.
Service coverage points are spread across different private medical institutions in Hong Kong. At the same time, citizens can also make appointments through the Take2 Prophecy™ online platform, which is very convenient.
The Take2 Prophecy™ early-stage nasopharyngeal cancer screening with brand-new technology has become a new choice for the general public in routine physical examinations.
Schedule an online screening now
In order to welcome the coming of the new year, many people hope to maintain the best condition.
Don't hesitate, take the first step right away and immediately carry out early nasopharyngeal cancer screening, and take the initiative to protect your health with precision and science.
Learn more about Take2 Prophecy™ early nasopharyngeal cancer screening and online appointment: https://bit.ly/3xTgQ9z
#The content of this article is for reference only and cannot replace clinical medical opinions. For details, please inquire with professional medical staff.
1. Overview of Hong Kong Cancer Statistics of 2019. Hong Kong Hospital Authority, October 2021.
2. Hong Kong Cancer Registry. Hong Kong Hospital Authority,www3.ha.org.hk/cancereg/. Accessed 23 May 2021.
3. Nasopharyngeal Cancer in 2019. Hong Kong Hospital Authority, October 2021.
4. Chan, KC Allen, et al. “Analysis of Plasma Epstein–Barr Virus DNA to Screen for Nasopharyngeal Cancer.” New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 377, no. 6, 2017, pp. 513–22.
5. Lam, WK Jacky, et al. “Sequencing-Based Counting and Size Profiling of Plasma Epstein–Barr Virus DNA Enhance Population Screening of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , vol. 115, no. 22, 2018, pp. E5115–24.
6. Chang, Kai-Ping, et al. “Complementary Serum Test of Antibodies to Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen-1 and Early Antigen: A Possible Alternative for Primary Screening of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.” Oral Oncology, vol. 44, no. 8, 2008, pp. 784–92.
7. Tay, Joshua K., et al. “Screening in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Current Strategies and Future Directions.” Current Otorhinolaryngology Reports, vol. 2, no. 1, 2013, pp. 1-7.
(Information and photos provided by the customer)
