Groundbreaking Early Cancer Detection Test Studied at Mayo Clinic Introduced Nationally

“We are grateful to Mayo Clinic for its dedication to advancing new technologies for early cancer detection and for playing a pivotal role in the development of Galleri,” says Dr. Josh Ofman, chief medical officer and head of external affairs at GRAIL.“A simple blood test capable of detecting more than 50 cancers is a ground‑breaking advancement and could have a tremendous human and economic benefit.”

Initial results from the interventional PATHFINDER Study, which involved the return of Galleri test results to providers to communicate to participants, were presented today at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. They demonstrate Galleri’s performance in the clinical setting was consistent with findings from previous observational studies, underscoring the potential real‑world ability of Galleri to find deadly cancers earlier.

The Galleri test is for those at an elevated risk of cancer, such as adults age 50 or older and is available by prescription only.

Dr. Liu is the co‑director of the Genomics in Action Program within the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine, research chair of the Department of Oncology, and a consultant in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. Dr. Liu conducts patient‑oriented research focused on developing clinically relevant molecular markers to allow for the most accurate prediction of treatment benefit and patient outcomes in solid tumor malignancies. She also researches multi‑cancer early cancer detection through blood assays and develops novel therapeutics to improve survival in early‑stage and metastatic breast cancer.

^[1] Liu MC, Oxnard GR, Klein EA, Swanton C, Seiden MV, Liu MC, Oxnard GR, Klein EA, Smith D, Richards D, Yeatman TJ. Sensitive and specific multi‑cancer detection and localization using methylation signatures in cell‑free DNA. Ann Oncol. 2020;31(6):745‑59.