Multi-cancer early detection tests, or MCEDs, are being called gamechangers for pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, and ovarian cancer — cancers for which there is no good screening.
Currently, early screening tests can only detect five types of cancers: breast, colorectal, prostate, cervical, and lung. The procedures can only screen for one cancer at a time.
In Duke Health’s ongoing Conversations in Cancer series, medical oncologist Dr. Diane Reidy-Lagunes talks to Dr. Kevin Oeffinger, director of the Duke Cancer Institute’s Center for Onco-Primary Care, about how the tests work, the procedure’s benefits and concerns, and who should get tested.
MCED tests use a single tube of blood to screen for up to 50 cancers. They work by detecting cancer cells floating in the blood. A positive test can identify the mutation within the DNA and the site of origin in the body.
Last year, the Galleri MCED test detected more than seven times as many cancers as standard screenings. More than half of the cancers were found in early stages.
