The test costs $949 and is not federally approved<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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MONDAY, Feb. 23, 2026 (HealthDay News) \u2014 A blood test designed to find cancer early did not work as hoped in a major new study, according to the company that makes it.<\/p>\n
The test, called Galleri, failed to lower the number of people diagnosed with late-stage cancer, its maker Grail<\/a> announced last week.<\/p>\n The results are a blow to a fast-growing field that aims to catch cancer earlier, when treatment may be easier and more effective.<\/p>\n Galleri looks for tiny shards of cancer DNA in the blood and for more than 50 types of cancer. <\/p>\n The test has been sold in the U.S. since 2021, even though it has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It costs $949, and most people pay for it out of pocket.<\/p>\n Grail says it has sold nearly 500,000 tests, including more than 185,000 last year alone.<\/p>\n The study<\/a> followed 142,000 healthy adults ages 50 to 77 in Britain for three years. It was run with the U.K.\u2019s National Health Service.<\/p>\n Some participants received the Galleri blood test. Others did not. Researchers hoped the test would find cancer earlier, at Stages 1 or 2, instead of later, when the disease is harder to treat.<\/p>\n That did not happen.<\/p>\n There was not a significant reduction in number of cancers diagnosed at Stage 3<\/a> or Stage 4, Grail said. The study\u2019s main goal was to show a 20% drop in advanced cancers, but that target was missed.<\/p>\n \u201cThis doesn\u2019t support rollout within the American health care system,\u201d Dr. Richard Houlston<\/a>, a cancer genetics expert at the Institute of Cancer Research, told The New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n Grail executives said they were still encouraged by some results. They pointed to a drop in Stage 4 cancers and a rise in Stage 3 cases, which could mean cancers were found slightly earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely right to say we didn\u2019t hit the primary endpoint,\u201d said Harpal Kumar<\/a>, Grail\u2019s chief scientific officer. \u201cBut what we did see was a very compelling clinical benefit here.\u201d<\/p>\n Other experts? They weren’t convinced.<\/p>\n The study failed \u2014 “end of story,” Dr. Adewole Adamson<\/a>, a cancer researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there was a slam dunk result, we would have seen it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Some cancers already have reliable screening tests, like mammograms<\/a> and colonoscopies. But many deadly cancers do not, which is why Galleri raised so much hope.<\/p>\n Still, experts emphasized that finding cancer earlier does not always mean people live longer. In addition, blood tests can also miss cancers or raise false alarms.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got this thing hanging over your head, but you don\u2019t know what to do about it,\u201d said Dr. Daniel Hayes<\/a> of the Rogel Cancer Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He described cases where a blood test suggests cancer but scans find nothing.<\/p>\n A new law allows Medicare to cover some cancer detection tests, but Galleri is not automatically covered. Grail has also applied for FDA approval.<\/p>\n Experts say the failed trial could make that approval more difficult.<\/p>\n These results “are really sobering for this field,\u201d Adamson added.<\/p>\n After the announcement, Grail\u2019s stock dropped about 50%. Nearly all of the company\u2019s revenue comes from Galleri sales.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n Learn more about the Galleri test<\/a>.<\/p>\n