Seventy percent of cancer deaths come from cancers with no screening
For generations, cancer has claimed lives not because medicine lacked the will to intervene, but because it lacked the means to look early enough. A new multi-cancer blood test — capable of detecting signals from up to 50 cancers before symptoms arise — now stands at the threshold of regulatory approval, promising to close the gap that accounts for 70 percent of cancer deaths. With Congressional funding legislation already passed and FDA review underway, the question is no longer whether such a tool is possible, but whether the systems built to deliver medicine can move swiftly enough to matter.
- Seventy percent of cancer deaths come from cancers that have no screening test — a silent, systemic failure that a single blood draw may soon begin to address.
- The MCED test can scan for signals of 50 different cancers at once, roughly ten times what current screening methods can detect, upending the fragmented status quo.
- Congress has already acted, passing legislation to authorize Medicare and Medicaid coverage — but the test cannot reach patients until the FDA grants its approval, expected by year's end.
- Erika Brown, a colon cancer survivor and CEO of One Cancer Place, is driving public awareness of the test, lending the clinical promise a deeply personal urgency.
- If approved, the test would shift cancer medicine's fundamental posture — from reacting to symptoms to intercepting disease while it is still silent and treatable.
Colorado expects more than 30,000 new cancer diagnoses this year, and for most of those patients, the cancer threatening their life has no standard screening test available. That gap — between what medicine can currently detect and what actually kills people — may be on the verge of narrowing significantly.
The technology is called Multi-Cancer Early Detection, or MCED. By scanning a blood sample for biological signals from up to 50 different cancers at their earliest, asymptomatic stages, it offers roughly ten times the detection range of existing screening tools. Erika Brown, founder and CEO of One Cancer Place and a colon cancer survivor herself, calls it a potential watershed moment — one that could fundamentally change how doctors approach prevention and diagnosis. The stakes are concrete: 70 percent of cancer deaths currently come from malignancies with no screening option at all.
Two major approvals stand between the test and widespread use. Congress moved first, passing the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare MCED Screening Coverage Act to authorize Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement once the test clears regulatory review. The FDA's decision is expected before the end of the year, though the timeline remains uncertain.
For Brown, the issue is not abstract. Diagnosed with colon cancer 24 years ago, she understands early detection as something measured not in statistics but in years lived. If MCED reaches patients, it would represent a quiet revolution in cancer medicine — not a cure, but a chance to find disease while it can still be stopped.
Colorado will see more than 30,000 new cancer diagnoses this year, according to the American Cancer Society. Most of those patients will face a grim reality: the cancers killing them have no screening test available. That gap—the space between what we can detect and what actually kills us—is about to narrow, if a new blood test clears the regulatory hurdles ahead.
The test is called Multi-Cancer Early Detection, or MCED. It works by scanning blood for signals of up to 50 different cancers in their earliest stages, before symptoms appear. That's roughly ten times the number of cancers currently detectable through standard screening. Erika Brown, founder and CEO of One Cancer Place, describes it as a potential watershed moment. The test, she explains, could fundamentally reshape how doctors approach cancer diagnosis and prevention. Right now, screening is fragmented and incomplete. Seventy percent of cancer deaths come from malignancies with no screening option at all—a fact that underscores how much room exists for improvement.
The scope of what MCED could cover is striking. There are more than 120 types of cancer in total. Having a single blood test capable of detecting signals from 50 of them at an early, asymptomatic stage represents a significant expansion of what's possible. Brown emphasizes that this breadth matters enormously for public health. The test has been in development for several years, and early studies have shown promising results. But promise alone doesn't get a medical test into clinics.
The path forward requires two major approvals. Congress moved first. In February, Senators Michael Bennet and his co-sponsors passed the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare MCED Screening Coverage Act, legislation that would allow Medicare and Medicaid to cover the test once it's approved. That's a crucial step—it signals that policymakers see value in the technology and are willing to fund it for the elderly and low-income populations most vulnerable to cancer. But the Food and Drug Administration must sign off before any of that coverage takes effect. Brown expects FDA approval by the end of the year, though the regulatory process can be unpredictable.
Brown's confidence in the test carries personal weight. She is a colon cancer survivor, diagnosed 24 years ago. That history shapes her perspective on what early detection means—not just statistics, but lives extended, families spared the worst outcomes. If MCED reaches patients, it will represent a fundamental shift in cancer medicine: from waiting for symptoms to appear and then racing to treat them, to finding disease before it announces itself. The test won't be a cure, but it could be something almost as valuable—a chance to catch cancer when it's still whispering instead of shouting.
Notable Quotes
This blood-based test will radically change the whole diagnostic and screening process for cancers— Erika Brown, Founder and CEO of One Cancer Place
To have the range of at least 50 cancers being covered at this early, non-symptomatic stage is huge— Erika Brown
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that this test can detect 50 cancers instead of the current handful?
Because right now, most cancers have no screening at all. If you get one of those 70 percent of cancers without a screening test, you don't know you have it until you're sick. By then, it's often too late.
So this is really about the ones we're missing?
Exactly. We've gotten good at screening for a few—colon, breast, cervical. But there are 120 types of cancer. This test is a way to cast a much wider net with a single blood draw.
What's the holdup? Why isn't this already available?
It needs FDA approval first. Congress already said they'll pay for it through Medicare and Medicaid, but the FDA has to be convinced it works and is safe before it can be used clinically.
When does that happen?
The expectation is by the end of this year, but regulatory timelines can shift. It's not a given.
If it gets approved, what changes?
Everything, potentially. Instead of waiting for symptoms or following standard screening protocols, doctors could offer one blood test that screens for dozens of cancers at once. It changes the whole conversation about prevention.
And if it doesn't work as well as hoped?
Then we're back where we started—with most cancers undetectable until they're symptomatic. That's why the studies matter so much.