The OHSU article titled “PATHFINDER 2 findings advance multi-cancer early detection blood testing” illuminates a blood test that helps increase cancer detection 6.5-fold, and identifies many cancers lacking routine screening options.
The article reports results from PATHFINDER 2, a study of 35,878 adults age 50 and older. When researchers added the Galleri blood test to recommended cancer screening, 6.5 times as many cancers were detected through screening. About 70% of cancers found by Galleri were types without national screening recommendations. Nearly half were diagnosed at stage 1 or 2. OHSU describes participants whose test results led to diagnoses of liver and bile duct cancers.
A positive result was a signal to investigate, not a diagnosis: 173 of 287 people with positive results were ultimately diagnosed with cancer, or about 60%. The findings are promising, but PATHFINDER 2 did not establish that testing prevents cancer deaths. A separate randomized U.K. trial did not meet its primary goal of reducing combined stage 3 and 4 diagnoses. Galleri is intended to add to, not replace, routine screening.