This common blood test can predict cancer as minutely as a lump in the breast - Read

High number of platelets have been linked to an increased risk of all forms of cancer and scientists are now urging doctors to consider thrombocytosis as a detection method for patients who are yet to show symptoms.

Researchers claim that this new study establishes a stronger link across all ages and genders, and with cancer in all areas of the body.

The researchers looked at 31,261 records of patients in the UK with a high platelet count (thrombocytosis), and 7,969 records of patients whose platelet count was normal.

They found that 11.6 percent of males with thrombocytosis went on to be diagnosed with cancer within a year, compared to 4.1 percent of those without.

For females, cancer developed in 6.2 percent of those with thrombocytosis, compared to 2.2 percent without.

If a second high platelet count was recorded within six months, those risks went even higher: 18.1 percent for males and 10.1 percent for females.

A lump on the breast turns out to be cancerous in around 8.5 percent of cases for women aged 50 to 59 years, by comparison.

The researchers report that Lung and colorectal cancer were the types most commonly linked to thrombocytosis.

What's more, one-third of those with lung or colorectal cancer had no other symptoms of the disease apart from thrombocytosis - which means this could be a very important indicator in the future for cases when cancer wouldn't otherwise be spotted so soon.

The team says this the first new indicator of cancer to have been clearly identified in the last three decades, with the potential to identify thousands of cancers earlier and save hundreds of lives a year.