Blood test for lung cancer

Scientists have developed a blood test which can identify people at risk of developing lung cancer.

They have found a genetic variation that makes some smokers 10 times more likely to get the disease.

It is the first predictive test for cancer and could transform medicine over the next 30 years.

The Israeli team's discovery shows why some people are better than others at repairing smoke-related damage to their DNA and why some non-smokers are vulnerable to the disease.

The new blood tests, which could be available within four years, measures how good the repair mechanism is and determines the risks of contracting cancer.

Lung cancer kills more than 33,000 Britons a year and most patients are diagnosed relatively late.

Smoking is believed to be responsible for about 90 per cent of the cases.