Multicancer early detection test in symptomatic patients referred for cancer investigation from primary care

Analysis of circulating tumor DNA could stratify cancer risk is symptomatic patients. The prospective SYMPLIFY study, at 44 centers in England and Wales, evaluated a methylation-based multicancer early detection (MCED) diagnostic test in symptomatic patients referred from primary care. The positive predictive value was 75.5%, the negative predictive value was 97.6%, the sensitivity was 66.3%, and the specificity was 98.4%. Sensitivity increased with increasing age and cancer stage. Sensitivity and negative predictive value were highest for patients with symptoms mandating investigation for upper gastrointestinal cancer. The authors conclude that the MCED test can assist clinicians with decisions regarding urgency and route of referral from primary care.