Genetic tests and analyses may become the scout forces that help detect, and even prevent cancer from happening. As researchers explain, nipping cancer in the bud is possible if people start early enough -- that is, taking measures before a diagnosis. Sun Ye has the report from Beijing.  

10 millilitres of blood will be enough. Let it go through separation, amplification, comparative analysis. The details of the procedures we won't go into. But here is the end result. It's not very glamorous looking. But it holds all the pertinent information -- what kind of cancer he's at risk of, and how he can mitigate them. Wang Huan, the bio-medical scientist who made genetic-based analysis and prescription her career, went through the test herself.

DR.WANG HUAN POPULATION AND PRECISION HEALTH CARE, LTD. "I submitted my genes for test, and found that I stood a higher chance of breast cancer than the average Chinese woman. I immediately adjusted my lifestyle to a less stressful one, I changed my diet to include less oil and salt. The earlier you detect and make preparations for it, the better chance you have of not getting it at all. But even at stage one, breast cancer is 100 percent treatable."

Now back up for a little science: Cancer comes from a bad case of gene mutation. It can be hereditary, but more often than not, it is caused by a hazardous environment or lifestyle. Chances of getting cancer are the highest when someone with susceptible genes is exposed to environments that will likely induce these mutations.

For example, 20 percent of Asians, including Chinese, have susceptible genes for lung cancer. But many in China disregard that risk and continue to smoke and brave air pollution without care. Now, the country is the number one lung cancer nation in the world.

Though genetic testing may help, scientists also caution that the practice is still at an early stage. It might still have varying results on different types of prospective cancer, and might not work so well for the general population. But industry insiders say this practice is developing fast.

DR. ADAM DENG GENEIS CO. "In the last two years, we've seen a twenty to thirty percent increase in genetic screening and detection every year."

The chances of avoiding cancer altogether is uncertain, but hopes are high.

DR. SARAH LOTZOF CODE YOU GENETICS, UK "It's not just the detection, it's the detection before someone gets symptoms. So you could add it into, for example, an annual health screening. Think of the thousands and thousands of lives you could save by detecting a cancer before it showed symptoms, so you can treat it more precisely."

DR. WANG HUAN POPULATION AND PRECISION HEALTH CARE, LTD "As long as we start early, we can have survival rates as high as 70 percent. I want to get this message about cancer across: It IS treatable. It IS preventable."

Who knows? A drop of blood might just change things. Sun Ye,CGTN, BJ