Researchers in the United States and Canada tested the new Galleri blood test, which can detect more than 50 types of cancer at early stages. Developed by the California company GRAIL, the test has already been trialed on 23,000 people over the age of 50 with no symptoms of illness. The probability of an accurate result was 62%, while the false-positive rate was only 0.4% — an extremely low figure for diagnostics of this level.
Especially important is that more than half of the confirmed cases were found at stages one and two, when treatment is most effective. About 75% of the cancers detected were types for which there is currently no standard screening. In almost all cases (92%), the test also correctly identified the organ where the tumor had developed. Combining Galleri with standard examinations increased cancer detection sevenfold.
The Galleri blood test study is now in its final stage of large-scale evaluation. It is not intended to replace current methods, but it may become a powerful addition that could take cancer screening to a fundamentally new level.
