A newly released study suggests that a simple blood test may have the potential to identify dozens of different types of cancer.
Cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death, but a new blood test may be able to detect 50 types of disease. Notably, the screening method can reportedly detect cancers early in their development, improving the odds of successful treatment.
GRAIL, the company behind the Galleri test, released the study. GRAIL tested 25,000 healthy adults over the age of 50 using the multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test, identifying cancers at earlier stages in organs that do not typically receive routine screenings. Signals were discovered in 216 people, with 133 later confirmed as having cancer. The test also accurately predicted the cancer’s origin 92% of the time.
Presently, many types of the most serious cancers lack effective screening methods. As a result, they tend to be found too late, after treatment has a meaningful chance of success.
Conversely, when tumors are identified early in their development, they are more treatable, and in some cases, they can be cured.
The Galleri MCED testing is a type of liquid biopsy that aims to identify cancer cells long before symptoms actually appear. By analyzing DNA and protein profiles using machine-learning algorithms, they can determine the likely origin of cancers in the body.
First, a patient’s blood sample is taken, and then a lab analyzes the DNA using state-of-the-art techniques and equipment. If any anomalies are found, a closer inspection is initiated. Armed with this molecular data, doctors can potentially offer the patient targeted treatments with higher rates of success.
While some MCED screening is available as laboratory-developed tests, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve any multi-cancer early detection testing methods.