Patient Preferences for Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) Screening Tests

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Medical Diagnostics
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Emerging blood-based multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests offer potential for widespread cancer screening.
• Little is known about US adults' preferences for these novel MCED tests.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify preferences for blood-based MCED tests among US adults aged 50-80 years.
• To identify key attributes influencing MCED test adoption.

Main Methods:

• A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted online with 1700 US adults (aged 50-80).
• Participants evaluated MCED tests based on five attributes: true positives, false negatives, false positives, unknown cancer origin, and number of cancers detected.
• Latent class multinomial logit models were used for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Three distinct preference classes were identified.
• Across all classes, higher accuracy (more true positives, fewer false negatives/positives) and detection of more cancer types were preferred.
• 72% of participants preferred adding MCED tests to current screenings.

Conclusions:

• The majority of older US adults favor MCED screening, with accuracy being a key factor.
• A minority (16%) showed distinct preferences, particularly concerning test accuracy, and were less likely to opt-in.
• Understanding these preferences is crucial for MCED test implementation.