A Breakthrough Blood Test To Diagnose 50 Diverse Types Of Cancer Is All Set to Roll Out In The United States

An innovative blood test called the Galleri blood test that can detect at least 50 different forms of cancer is going to be accessible in the United States soon. This blood test has been developed by a California-based biotechnology firm called GRAIL. Experts have said that blood screening can detect nearly 50 types of cancer such as pancreatic, esophageal, and ovarian cancer. They have claimed that the test is going to change the face of cancer diagnosis in the US. Health experts have said that the rollout of this blood test is going to be a game-changer. With the help of this test, millions of lives can be saved by the early diagnosis of cancer. Dr. Julia Feygin, who is a senior medical associate at GRAIL, has said that the outcomes of cancer patients will improve drastically with the early detection of cancer. As per the report, Feygin’s father as well has lost his life while fighting pancreatic cancer at the young age of 40 years without any known risk factors. Health experts have said that many types of cancer are hard to diagnose and at times people do not even realize that they are living with such a dreaded disease until the disease grows to a point where they have very bleak chances of survival.

Health experts have said that the Galleri test needs two tubes of a cancer patient’s blood and then it is sent back to labs for further testing. It can take up to ten days to get the results of the test. Dr. Julia Feygin has said that the test can identify and sequence these small bits of tumor-derived DNA present in the bloodstream of the patient. Based on the patterns that are seen by experts, it can be revealed if there is an indication of cancer presence. With the Galleri blood test, experts can envisage with high accuracy wherein the patient’s body the cancer signal is originating from. The new blood test for the diagnosis of cancer has shown great results in clinical trials. The study has been done by the Mayo Clinic that has enrolled nearly 6600 people. The test has been able to find 29 people who have been living with cancer and they have had no clue about it. Experts have said that the Galleri test has only a 1 percent of false positivity rate. Many medical professionals are looking forward to the Galleri test that is going to hit the markets in the US very soon.

Dr. Greg Plotnikoff, who is a Minneapolis-based medical chief, has said that he has already prescribed this test to many patients and family members who are at risk of the disease before the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given a sanction to the Galleri test. Experts have said that the company has applied for a sanction from the FDA for the breakthrough blood test. However, patients can still ask their health care providers to prescribe them the test. As per the report, the Mayo Clinic is planning to make this test accessible at its branch locations across Minnesota, Rochester, Florida, Jacksonville, Arizona, and Phoenix. The officials from GRAIL have said that the Galleri test has been granted a go-ahead by the New York Department of Health in September. In September 2021, the National Health Service (NHS) has initiated the world’s largest clinical trial of the Galleri test; therefore, the Gallery test might be available in the UK as well in the future. This massive clinical trial has enrolled 140000 volunteers. The findings of the clinical trial are supposed to be out by 2023. If the trial is successful, the rollout of the test in the UK will start in 2024 or 2025. The Gallery test is not going to replace traditional cancer screenings, rather they can be clubbed with the new blood test. The test is advised to people who are found with particular risk factors for some forms of cancer such as age, behavior, or hereditary.