Quest & MD Anderson Partner to Develop Blood Test for Multi-Cancer Risk Assessment

The test will be based on technology and intellectual property from the Multi-Cancer Stratification Test (MCaST), developed by Dr Samir Hanash’s laboratory at MD Anderson.

Quest Diagnostics, a leading provider of diagnostic information services, has joined hands with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to improve the identification of individuals at elevated risk for cancer who could benefit from medically appropriate screenings.

As part of this agreement, Quest will design and validate a laboratory-developed blood test using circulating protein biomarkers that indicate high risk for several types of cancer.

These include colorectal, lung, breast, pancreatic, ovarian, liver, prostate, esophageal, and stomach cancers.

The test will be based on technology and intellectual property from the Multi-Cancer Stratification Test (MCaST), developed by Dr Samir Hanash’s laboratory at MD Anderson. The MCaST model is informed by an extensive clinical research effort involving tens of thousands of participants in cancer screening cohorts.

Quest plans to refine, develop, and validate this technology into a proprietary lab-developed test.

Pending successful validation, Quest may pursue commercialization of the test, aiming to make it available to healthcare providers across North America by 2026.

The new test is intended to complement, rather than replace, conventional cancer screening methods. It would offer clinicians an additional tool to identify patients who could benefit from further screenings or evaluations.

Heightened Focus on Cancer Screening

Current screening tools typically focus on detecting one cancer at a time and often require invasive or costly procedures, which can deter patient participation.

Meanwhile, existing multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood tests detect circulating tumor DNA but can be expensive, are not risk-personalized, and may lack established follow-up protocols.

According to recent data, just 51% of US adults reported undergoing routine medical appointments or cancer screenings within the past year.

"One of the biggest problems in cancer care today is patients skipping preventive screenings because the methods are too invasive, inconvenient, or unaffordable," said Mark Gardner, senior vice president, Oncology, Genomics and R&D, Quest Diagnostics.

"Another huge problem is a lack of tests for infrequent, but often deadly cancers, like pancreatic cancer. Building on proteomics discoveries from Dr Hanash and his team, Quest intends to create a simple blood test anyone can conveniently access and reasonably afford to identify risk of a range of cancers. A patient identified with elevated risk may be more inclined to pursue preventive cancer screening or other medical assessments that could identify cancer in early, more treatable stages of disease," Gardner added.

Quest Diagnostics provides diagnostic information through various laboratory tests, supporting patients, healthcare providers, and organizations in making informed health decisions.

Drawing from an extensive database of de-identified clinical lab results, the company contributes to research, care delivery, and health system planning.

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