Large-scale observational prospective cohort study of a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test in symptomatic patients referred for cancer investigation

This new study is investigating the effectiveness of a multi-cancer early detection test in existing diagnostic pathways, as a potential solution to delays in cancer diagnosis. Over 6000 patients who were referred for urgent examination of symptoms suspicious of cancer were recruited to the study. Blood samples were collected from these patients for the multi-cancer early detection test. Overall, the test detected a cancer signal in 323 patients, and of that, 244 patients were diagnosed with cancer. The test’s positive predicted value (PPV) was determined to be 75.5%. Its sensitivity was 66%, which increased with the age of patients tested, as well as the severity of the cancer stage. These promising results form a basis for an interventional study in patients presenting to general practice with non-specific symptoms that may be related to cancer, ultimately reducing delays in their cancer diagnoses. This finding was featured at the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting and will be published in a journal in due course. Read the original article here.