Novel blood-based early cancer detection: diagnostics in development

Cancer affects millions of Americans, and the number of cases is steadily rising. The increase in diagnosis of cancer cases comes with an associated increase in personal and economic burden. Earlier detection can improve treatment outcomes and may reduce the burden of cancer. Screening for cervical cancer is a good example of the potential of effective screening methods to dramatically reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with cancer. However, many current screening methods have high false-positive rates, increasing the concern for overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Blood-based tests capable of detecting multiple types of cancer represent an emerging approach to early cancer detection. Although there are several single-cancer detection tests in development, multicancer screening tests have greater potential to allow for widespread screening in the general population. Three multicancer screening tests are being validated in ongoing clinical trials, including the CancerSEEK assay, the Galleri test, and the PanSeer assay, all of which show high specificity in preliminary findings. Further validation is required before multicancer detection tests are incorporated into general population cancer screening.