Multi-Cancer Detection Tests

A single blood test can now screen for dozens of cancers at once. What do patients and physicians understand about these tests, and what do they need to know before choosing one?

What do we know already?

Multi-cancer detection (MCD) tests, such as Galleri and Cancerguard, are blood tests that can detect dozens of cancers from a single sample of blood, including cancers for which no routine screening currently exists. Early studies demonstrate promising specificity and the ability to identify the likely tissue of origin, but there is not yet definitive evidence that MCD testing reduces cancer mortality.

Important uncertainties remain regarding false-positive results, overdiagnosis, follow-up testing, costs, and how patients and clinicians should interpret test results.

What’s next?

Our forthcoming research aims to generate evidence that supports informed, patient-centered decision making about MCD tests. Our goal is to understand how patients and physicians perceive the benefits, limitations, and uncertainties of MCD testing, and to identify the information people need in order to make informed choices.

A major aim is to ensure that adoption of MCD testing, if future clinical evidence supports it, happens in a way that promotes informed choice and minimizes misunderstanding about what these tests can and cannot do.

Further Reading

In the media

Empowering Patients and Physicians in Decisions about MCED Tests — CU Anschutz Today