Blood test that can screen for 50+ cancers now for sale in Canada, at $2,099
CBC
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It's an idea that thrills cancer researchers: a blood test that has the potential to screen for a sweeping number of cancers before symptoms appear.
That's the premise behind Galleri, a test that looks for traces of the DNA that cancer cells shed into the bloodstream.
"The Galleri test screens for many of the deadliest cancers before they become symptomatic, including those without recommended screening tests," says Grail, Inc., the California-based health-technology company that created the test.
Until now, it has only been commercially available in the U.S., where more than 250,000 have been sold. Galleri is now available in Canada through Wellness Haus, a private clinic in Toronto, at a price of $2,099 per test.
Dr. Melissa Hershberg, medical director of Wellness Haus, says about 50 patients have taken the test in the three months since her clinic started offering it.
"The Galleri test has been on my radar for years because I've had several patients go to the U.S. to get it done there," Hershberg told CBC in an interview.
Galleri is one of an emerging class of screening methods known as multi-cancer early-detection tests, or MCEDs. The idea is to screen for dozens of cancer types at once in the hopes of catching it at its early stages, when it's generally easiest to treat.
In the U.S., the National Cancer Institute is poised to launch the Vanguard Study next year into the feasibility of MCEDs as a screening tool. The study begins with 24,000 people, with the ultimate aim of determining whether the tests can reduce deaths from cancer.
The U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS) has recruited 140,000 participants in what it describes as the world's largest trial of an MCED, trying to find out if screening with Galleri reduces the likelihood of a late-stage cancer diagnosis.
"The test is still in its infancy," Hershberg said, adding that researchers are "still doing studies on it. So it's not something that I go and tell everybody to go do."
The enthusiasm about Galleri's potential is tempered by questions about its effectiveness as a broad-based screening method for the population.
Dr. Eddy Lang, who teaches at the University of Calgary medical school, is wary of the hype.
"The problem as I see it is that the test has not yet been proven to improve patient outcomes," said Lang in an interview. "Until we have studies that show that people actually live longer as a result of getting the test, I think we need to be very apprehensive about using it."
