Early cancer detection diagnostics, along with the success of anti-smoking campaigns, are the two biggest reasons for declining mortality rates in cancer over the last several decades, even as immunotherapies, precision oncology treatments and other innovations targeting late stage cancers are improving outcomes – to an extent. To truly bend the mortality curve in oncology, early cancer detection is needed beyond the five cancer types for which routine screening products and national guidelines already exist: breast cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer and lung cancer in high-risk individuals, according to a growing number of clinicians and cancer researchers, and early detection diagnostics product developers.
Early Cancer Detection: Will New Screening Technology Disrupt Cancer Care?
The emergence of multi-cancer blood tests for early detection is captivating investors and driving multi-billion-dollar acquisitions. Companies such as GRAIL, Thrive Earlier Detection and Guardant are predicting revolutionary change in the way cancer is diagnosed and treated. The biggest hurdle, however, may be coaxing health care systems and health insurers to join the revolution.
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