A groundbreaking blood test has been developed that can detect over 50 types of cancer, often before symptoms even appear, as per a new study presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2025. This test, made by American pharmaceutical firm Grail, has the potential to become a game-changer in cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The new multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test called Galleri was studied by a team of researchers in California. The researchers analysed about 23,161 participants who were 50 years of age or older across the US and Canada. The participant did not have any pre-existing symptoms.
Also Read | Bengaluru Man "Disappointed" After Self-Funded Pothole Repair Ruined, Internet Reacts
The company revealed that the data from this study will be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of the Galleri premarket approval (PMA) application, along with data from the prevalent screening round of the NHS-Galleri trial.
The results were able to identify a wide range of cancers, including breast, lung, colon and pancreatic cancers, with high accuracy. Some of these were detected at an early stage and were easier to treat. Some were even curable.
The test can detect fragments of cancerous DNA that have broken off a tumour and are circulating in the blood.
The official release mentioned that more than half (53.5%) of the new cancers detected by Galleri were stage I or II, and more than two-thirds (69.3%) were detected at stages I-III.
Also Read | Scientists May Have Come Closer To Confirming Dark Matter's Existence, New Study Finds Clue
"Galleri's ability to accurately predict where in the body the cancer signal comes from also helps to guide a more efficient diagnostic workup," Josh Ofman, MD, MSHS, President at GRAIL, said in a press release.
"These results are extremely compelling as approximately three-quarters of the Galleri-detected cancers do not have recommended screening tests today. Galleri is the only MCED test available that has been validated in an interventional trial in the screening population and could transform how we deliver cancer screening at a population level."
