Published Jun 21, 2023

The Huge Push For Blood Tests To Detect Cancer Early; Biotech Company Exact Sciences Shares Promising Update

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In the large push to develop blood tests that can detect cancers, there is a promising new product from a company called Exact Sciences. While across the board cancer detection from a simple blood test as part of the standard of care is likely still some years off, Exact Sciences recently shared some really exciting research surrounding their Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) tool.

When it comes to cancer treatment, early detection is key. No matter what type of cancer, the earlier the disease is diagnosed, the better the chance that treatment will be successful. And this, ultimately, leads to lives saved.

“The primary opportunity of the multi-cancer early detection [tool] is to compliment our current recommended standard-of-care cancer, early detection or screening tests, things like mammography, the pap smear, a number of different tests for colorectal cancer screening,” Dr. Tom Beer, Chief Medical Officer, Multi-Cancer Early Detection, at Exact Sciences, told SurvivorNet.

Screening guidelines in the U.S. recommend regular screenings for different types of cancer like breast, prostate, colon, cervical, prostate, and lung in certain populations. But there are many other types of cancer that we don’t screen for. Exact Sciences and many other companies are working to solve this issue by creating a blood test that can detect cancers early.

One major challenge is ensuring these tools don’t lead to a spike in false positives.

“We want to compliment [standard screenings] and develop blood tests that are able to detect many of the other cancers that are left behind,” Dr. Beer added. “You know, two-thirds of cancers and cancer deaths in the United States occur due to cancers that have no screening tests at all.”

Exact Sciences is a leading biotechnology company that specializes in molecular diagnostic tests for the early detection of cancer. Their pipeline of products already includes Cologuard, the stool-based DNA test used for colorectal cancer screening.

Early Detection Saves Lives

Dr. Beer said Exact Sciences’ “call to action” is that so many cancers have no screening test at all, even for people who have a family history of the disease.

He said that early detection will be key in helping to achieve President Joe Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot” initiative, which aims to reduce the cancer death rate in the U.S. by 50% over 25 years.

“We’re now losing 600,000 Americans per year to cancer … cutting that in half would be saving 300,000 lives every single year,” Dr. Beer said. “That’s really the goal at hand right now with early detection strategies we have available. We know they save lives.”

Dr. Beer explained that their multi-cancer test is currently still in development. While it’s showing a lot of promise, much research and long-time studies must be conducted before this tool gets approval for widespread use.

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