BERLIN (Reuters) – Two new blood tests could help  doctors detect colon and stomach cancers simply, cheaply and  early without the need for invasive procedures or unpleasant  examinations, researchers said today.

The tests, one developed by the Belgian biotech firm  OncoMethylome and another by scientists in Germany, use blood  samples to detect specific genetic signals of the disease and  could help predict whether it is likely to spread.

Ernst Kuipers, a specialist in bowel cancer at Rotterdam’s  Erasmus University, who was not involved in the research, said  the new tests marked a promising advance in the field of  developing more convenient screening.

“The blood sample can be taken by nurses or primary care  doctors without the need for special equipment or training,”  Joost Louwagie of OncoMethylome said.

Ulrike Stein, who presented her findings with Louwagie’s at  the ECCO-ESMO European cancer congress in Berlin, said hers was  the first test to be able to detect signals of a specific gene,  called S100A4 and known to be linked to cancer, in the blood.