Researchers under the leadership of the VU University teaching hospital in Amsterdam have developed a technique to test for cancer using a single drop of blood.

The technology has been tested on six types of cancer and has proved to be ‘very useful’ in early diagnosis, the hospital said in a statement on Thursday.

The technique successfully identified cancer in 96% of cases, the researchers found. The research has been published in the latest edition of academic journal Cancer Cell.

The test is still in the experimental phase, but research director Tom Würdinger said he expects it to be available for patients within five years.

‘It is important to detect and treat cancer as soon as possible,’ he said. ‘This new technique… can play a major role in this and hopefully save lives.’