NCI has issued a Request for Information seeking input from developers of multi-cancer early detection liquid biopsy tests, with the goal of launching an NCI-sponsored randomized controlled screening clinical trial of these tools.
“Multi-cancer early detection tests are being developed by many laboratories, and the potential for this technology to benefit the cancer screening process is exciting, but, there is a lot that we do not know about either the benefits or harms of screening for cancer with this type of test,” Lori Minasian, deputy director of the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention, said to The Cancer Letter.
“An MCED assay is just the first step in the process of being diagnosed with cancer, and each assay works differently. We are looking for input from a variety of sources on studies to assess these assays more fully,” Minasian said.