This could be a game changer for medical science, a new blood test has successfully screen multiple cancers in patients who were yet to show any symptoms. The test was conduct among 6,662 individuals as part of a Pathfinder Study by GRAIL, a healthcare company working on improving cancer screening.
These test was conduct among patients 50 years and above as they are at an elevated risk for cancer.
The results of the tests were present at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2022 in Paris.
The study found cancer in about 1% of participants, including types for which there is no establish screening method.
This is the first time that the results of the test have publish.
The Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) test was measure using both an earlier version of Galleri (MCED-E) and a refine version of Galleri (MCED-Scr).
Researchers said that the earlier version of the test was refine to reduce the detection of pre-malignant hematologic conditions, which are fairly common, and improve prediction of the cancer signal origin.
Jeffrey Venstrom, MD, chief medical officer at GRAIL, said in a statement :
“When added to standard of care screening, MCED testing more than doubled the number of cancers detected compared to standard screening alone. In fact, Galleri detected more cancers than all U.S. Preventive Services Task Force-recommended standard single cancer screenings combined. These included Stage I cancers of the liver, small intestine, and uterus, and Stage II pancreatic, bone, and oropharyngeal cancers,”.
The new test is likely to enhance cancer screening.
The cancer signal was detect in 92 patients and of these 35 participants were diagnose with 36 cancers.
The company reveal that among the confirmed cancers, 71% of participants had cancer types that have no routine cancer screening available.
They also establish that the cancer signal origin prediction had 97% accuracy and after clinical treatment, there was a resolution of the cancer diagnosis in less than three months for most participants.
Participants were through imaging procedures, such as scans or MRIs, following true and false-positive results, and most true positive participants (82%) underwent an invasive procedure to confirm a cancer diagnosis.
Jeffrey Venstrom Said :
“While PATHFINDER was not designed to determine sensitivity or the number of cancer types detected by Galleri, 11 different cancer types were detected in this study that have no standard screening today, and the false positive rate was less than 1%,”.
The new test is likely to enhance cancer screening and devise better treatment strategies earlier than expect.
