Non-invasive, blood-based liquid biopsy tests have long been touted as the future for cancer diagnostics, but studies presented at the recent European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2022, highlight the challenges remaining before they can reach routine clinical practice.
In results from Grail’s PATHFINDER study which evaluated its multi-cancer early detection blood test in a screening population of 6,632 individuals aged 50 years or older, there was a low positive predictive value of 43.1% for the detection of early-stage cancer but a high negative predictive value, of 98.5%. Among those with a positive test result, the time till they received a diagnostic resolution was a median of 79 days.
