Currently, there are recommended screening protocols for only five cancer types (breast, cervical, prostate, lung, and colorectal), and the specific screening method depends on which of these cancer types a patient is being tested for. If a person has the misfortune of suffering from a cancer for which there is not a recommended screening test, the cancer is often diagnosed too late to save the person. More than half of the 600,000 annual cancer deaths in this country are attributable to such cancers. 

 

MCED can detect cancer earlier compared to current practice, and it can also test for the presence of dozens of cancer types- all based on a single blood draw. When cancer is treated at earlier stages, treatment is less expensive and the patient survival rate is higher. MCED has the potential to save billions of dollars in treatment cost annually ($26 billion by one estimate), and more importantly, thousands of lives. Given the rapid aging of the U.S. population and the link between cancer and age, the human and fiscal stakes in battling cancer will only increase in the coming years.

 

The Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act has been introduced in Congress to allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to cover MCED testing for Medicare beneficiaries. The bill has strong bipartisan support in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Utilizing innovation that can save lives and reduce treatment costs should be a goal that Democrats and Republicans around the country can agree on.