Multicenter prospective cohort study of blood-based tests for multicancer early cancer detection

Multicancer early detection (MCED) blood tests can detect a cancer signal from circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA). The prospective PATHFINDER cohort study investigated the feasibility of MCED testing for cancer screening. Among 6621 participants with analysable results, a cancer signal was detected in 92 (1.4%). Among these, 35 were diagnosed with cancer (true positives; 38%) and 57 were not (false positives; 62%). Median time to diagnostic resolution was 57 days (IQR 33-143) in true positives and 162 days (44-248) in false positives. The authors conclude that the study supports the feasibility of MCED screening for cancer.