Dr Zdenko Herceg on predicting breast cancer – how IARC scientists read the map hidden in an individual’s blood

Dr Zdenko Herceg, Head of the Epigenomics and Mechanisms Branch at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), explains how IARC scientists identify biomarkers in women’s blood to accurately predict their risk of developing breast cancer.

Using machine learning and state-of-the-art analytical tools developed at IARC, the researchers map the epigenome to predict the risk of breast cancer with high accuracy, in some cases up to 15 years before clinical diagnosis.