A Cancer Detection Test Fails in Major Study

A blood test aimed at early detection of cancer failed to reduce late-stage cancers in a major clinical trial, the test’s maker, Grail, announced on Thursday. The Galleri test looks for minuscule shards of cancer DNA in the blood and has been sold in the United States since 2021 for $949.

It was briefly featured in a Super Bowl advertisement this month. The study, run in partnership with Britain’s National Health Service, enrolled 142,000 healthy adults ages 50 to 77 and followed them over three years. Participants had blood drawn three times, about a year apart; one group was screened with Galleri and referred for care if they tested positive, while the other group did not get the test.

Recipients of the Galleri test did not show a significant reduction in cancers diagnosed at Stage 3 or Stage 4. Grail executives highlighted other findings that were not the study’s primary goal, including a decrease in Stage 4 cancers.

United Kingdom

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