By Matthew Moore KUAF
A new blood test has received FDA breakthrough status approval that can detect more than 50 different kinds of cancer in a patient. Mercy Hospitals in Rogers and Fort Smith are among the earliest health systems to offer the test.
KUAR | By Alexandria Brown
A new blood test being offered at Mercy Health Systems in Arkansas can be used to detect early signs of cancer. The Galleri test can indicate early signs of more than 50 types of cancers, including aggressive types like pancreatic, ovarian, and esophageal, which oftentimes have no warning signs
The Galleri, which is a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood test, was created by a California-based health care company called GRAIL. Dr. John Mohart, president of Mercy communities, said the test uses advanced sequencing to look for tumor DNA in the bloodstream.
“In general, we only screen for about four to five cancers in the U.S.—the most common ones,” Mohart said in an interview with KUAR News. “But the deep-seated cancers like pancreatic, ovarian, and esophageal, we don’t have any screening. And so, about 71% of cancer deaths are actually from cancers that we don't screen at all for. So with this test, it’s not a replacement for the normal screening that you would get with your physicians, but this is a supplement of deeper cancers that we don’t screen for at all.”
Mercy/Mercy Health Systems
Mercy Health Systems is offering a test that identifies early signs of cancer.