Richard Sullivan
Director at the Institute of Cancer Policy and Co-Director of the Centre for Conflict & Health Research at King’s College London
There is a lot of hype around multi-cancer early detection tests (MCEDs), and multiple companies and platforms are entering this market. However, the clinical utility of this technology, whether for routine symptomatic patient assessment or screening, is a very long way from being proven.
The hurdles for this technology delivering clinically meaningful benefits are so significant that this entire approach to early detection and screening may fail. Rigorous clinical evaluation is needed. The results presented in this study are very preliminary and a great deal more research will be needed to know whether this has any applicability in the real world of cancer care.