Multicancer Early Detection Screening Improves Patient Outcomes

HealthDay News — Annual multicancer early detection (MCED) screening with a single blood test provides more overall benefit than biennial MCED screening, according to a study published in BMJ Open.

Brian Rous, MB, BChir, PhD, from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, and colleagues estimated the effect of screening with an MCED test at different intervals (emphasis on annual and biennial screening) on cancer stage at diagnosis and mortality end points. Two sets of tumor growth scenarios were investigated: fast (2 to 4 years in stage I) and fast aggressive (1 to 2 years in stage I). The inputs for the current model were published MCED performance measures from a large case-control study and Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results data for persons aged 50 to 79 years for all cancer incidence.

The researchers found that under the fast tumor growth scenario, annual screening was associated with more favorable diagnostic yield. Compared with usual care, there were 370 more cancer signals detected/year/100,000 people screened, 49% fewer late-stage diagnoses, and 21% fewer deaths within 5 years. A similar, but less substantial, effect was seen with biennial screening compared with usual care (292 more cancer signals detected, 39% fewer late-stage diagnoses, and 17% fewer deaths within 5 years). For the fast tumor growth scenario, annual screening prevented more deaths within 5 years than the biennial scenario. However, a higher positive predictive value was seen with biennial screening (54% versus 43%); it was more efficient for preventing deaths within 5 years per 100,000 tests (132 versus 84) but prevented fewer deaths per year.

“The optimal choice of screening interval will depend on assessments of real-world cancer survival and the costs of confirmatory testing after MCED screening,” the authors wrote.

Several authors disclosed ties to biotechnology companies, including GRAIL, which funded the study.

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