Breakthrough Blood Test: Can Detect Over 50 Types of Cancer

As any competent physician will testify, the earlier most cancers are detected, the better the chances they can be treated and put in remission. Now a revolutionary breakthrough blood test can quickly determine over 50 different types of cancers.

CBS Minnesota is reporting the Mayo Clinic has participated in exciting new research proving a newly developed cutting-edge blood test is very bit a game-changer according to oncologists and physicians that have been following the new testing.

According to Dr. Julia Feygin, she lost her 40-year-old father to pancreatic cancer when she was 13. His cancer, unfortunately, was diagnosed after it had advanced to stage three. The late detection and limited treatments at the time meant that he lived for only nine more months. Dr. Feygin says….

"My dad, he was a healthy guy. He didn't have any known risk factors for cancer."

"I strongly believe that purpose can be found in everything that happens."

Dr. Feygin is now part of a team at a Menlo Park, California-based company called GRAIL that's introducing the blood test, called Galleri which she insists can diagnose hard-to-detect and often the most aggressive and deadly cancers like ovarian, esophageal, and the pancreatic that killed her father. Feygin says the new breakthrough blood test for cancer she has been working on is designed to revolutionize the treatment of all sorts of cancers…

"If cancers can be detected early, we can dramatically improve patient outcomes,"

Feygin points out that blood contains a DNA signature, and the new test developed by GRAIL tracks the DNA of more than 50 cancers sheded by human cells.

She explains that only two tubes of blood are needed to send to GRAIL's lab for analysis.

"We can find and sequence these tiny bits of tumor-derived DNA in the blood and, based on the patterns we see; we can reveal if there is a signal for cancer present. We can predict with very high accuracy wherein the body this cancer signal is coming from."

The results take just ten business days. An interventional study that included Mayo Clinic with 6,600 participants returned 29 signals followed by a cancer diagnosis. Even more impressive is another preceding study found a less than 1% false-positive rate.

Despite her enthusiasm, Dr. Feygin cautions that there are some caveats on who can get the test.

"It's intended to be used for people at an elevated risk for cancer. This can be something as simple as age."

Another drawback is this new blood test is still in the experimental and testing phase. As a result, they cannot be used without a valid prescription, and health insurance will not cover the $949 cost of the test.

Dr. Greg Plotnikoff, an oncologist involved in testing this breakthrough technology, is wildly enthusiastic about the new blood test…

"In the year 2021, this is so far beyond anything else we've been able to do. This is a game-changer."

He has prescribed the test for patients and family members with risk factors, saying cancers caught early are in more treatable stages. Plotnikoff also stresses…

"If we can catch things earlier, we have a chance then to make a significant difference,"

Dr. Greg Plotnikoff has also chosen to screen himself since he is over 60...

"If there was any signal, I wanted to know it and be able to do something about it."

According to the American Cancer Society, 71% of cancer deaths come from types of cancer that have no recommended screening. Dr. Feygin expresses the sincere hope the new to change outcomes for families like hers in the future.

"It presents an unprecedented opportunity to bend the cancer mortality curve and save so many lives."

GRAIL says there blood test Galleri…

 "is intended to be complementary to, and not a replacement of, U.S. guideline-recommended cancer screening."

GRAIL is still working on full FDA approval. However, you can ask your doctor to prescribe the test as long as you cover the expense out of pocket.

Galleri hopes the FDA will approve the test and be available at Mayo Clinic locations in Rochester, Minnesota, Jacksonville, Florida, and Phoenix before the end of the year. It will also be available at Mayo Clinic Health System sites in southern Minnesota and Wisconsin.

                     What is the Galleri® multi-cancer early detection test?