Early cancer detection saves lives. When cancer is found early, nearly nine out of 10 patients live five years or longer. But not all cancers are targeted by current screening tests. The routine cancer screenings that are available today can detect only five cancer types—lung, breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate. But other cancers—such as liver, ovarian, and pancreatic—have no recommended routine screening options, and they are responsible for almost three-quarters of all cancer deaths.
If you add early testing capabilities to the ability to test for multiple cancers at the same time with a simple blood draw, you may be able to revolutionize cancer screening. Today, that possibility is becoming an increasingly likely scenario with multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests. MCED tests rely on circulating tumor cell-free DNA to identify signs of early cancer in the blood without biopsy. With a single blood draw, these tests can both detect and localize multiple cancers throughout the body—before symptoms occur.
For more information on this project, please contact the ACCC Provider Education department.
Led by the Prevent Cancer Foundation, ACCC has joined more than 300 organizations in signing a letter urging the passage of the MCED Screening Coverage Act, which will help cancer care providers be able to use the latest testing technologies to improve quality of life and better patient outcomes.
As interest continues to build around multi-cancer early detection, hear what care teams need to know about the technology and the legislative outlook for coverage for this revolutionary testing.
