FDA panel endorses first-of-a-kind cancer blood test

The useful part

Grail Inc.'s Galleri test doesn't diagnose cancer but instead, with a single blood draw, looks for a signal that someone may have one of a long list of tumors. Those who receive a positive result need additional care to tell if they're really sick. Administration 's advisory panel voted 7-2, with one abstention, that the DNA-based test offers more potential benefits than risks, such as causing false assurances or raising false alarms.

How it works

• Victor van Berkel of UofL Physicians in Louisville, Kentucky, describing how more research is needed even if the test is rolled out.
• "If we can find more early-stage cancers in the population that we can't screen for currently, that will end up having benefit." The vote followed two earlier votes in which the experts affirmed that the...
• The positive vote came even as the panel raised many questions about the technology that needs more study.
• Lots of companies are studying such blood tests and Wednesday's vote marks the first time a federal advisory group has backed the experimental approach.
• The FDA isn't bound by the advice but if it agrees, it could pave the way for widespread U.S.

Details worth keeping

"Perhaps my yes is a hopeful rather than an accurate one," said Dr. adoption of a long-sought way to find more cancers earlier. A final decision is expected in a few months.