Would routine blood tests show if a person has cancer somewhere in the body?
No a routine blood test will not show if the person has cancer or not. It will give an indication of leukemias and lymphomas. They will also indicate internal bleeding which is sometimes caused by cancer. Tumor markers on not included in a routine blood test and they are not sensitive enough to diagnose cancer. They have to be ordered specifically and this is not usually done after a cancer diagnosis has been made. They are used primarily to monitor treatment.
