What is a Galleri blood test and how can it help diagnose multiple forms of cancer?

Tad Carper had no idea the technology to detect more than 50 cancers with one test existed. He does now, and the Dallas Cowboys senior vice president of communication wants to help spread the word.

Carper recently underwent surgery for Stage 2 throat cancer. He exhibited no symptoms. The Galleri blood test, developed by GRAIL, allowed him to attack the cancer sooner than he would have been able to otherwise.

The story of Carper and others helps put a face on its impact and increases awareness of this relatively new technology.

“There is nothing that is more motivating and inspiring than hearing these stories,” said Dr. Josh Ofman, president of GRAIL, a California-based biotech company that specializes in early cancer detection.

Single-cancer screenings are the norm. The focus is usually on three specific cancers in women (breast, colon and cervical) and two in men (prostate and colon). Lung is a focus for heavy smokers.

Screening for these cancers helps save lives. But it creates what Ofman calls a classic spotlight problem, shining the light over there while other, more aggressive cancers go unscreened. More than 70% of cancer deaths in the United States occur from those less common cancers, Ofman said.

The Galleri test doesn’t target a specific area. It looks for the fingerprint, the biological signal in DNA that has been shed from cancer. It’s a very specific marker and detects where that cancer is in the body.

It creates a more effective and efficient screening program.

“This really is a game-changer,” Ofman said. “In the past, people always thought of a cancer diagnosis as a death sentence, so they didn’t want to know. With the new technology that GRAIL has pioneered, we can now find many of the aggressive, early cancers.

“That can change the way we think about cancer.”

Blood is drawn and shipped to the company’s lab in North Carolina to test for more than 50 cancers. The results are available in seven to 10 days. Patients receive one of two messages:

No cancer signal detected. Please continue doing recommended single-cancer screening.
Cancer signal detected. The patient is given the predicted location and told to set up an appointment with their primary physician to have a CT scan.

There are more than 8 million false positive results yearly with the single-screening cancers mentioned above, Ofman said. That’s a 10% false positive rate.

The false positive rate of the Galleri test is 0.5%, he said.

Galleri has been on the market for almost three years, Ofman said, and there have been 250,000 tests administered and another 380,000 people are in individual studies.

The technology has received a breakthrough designation from the FDA. The cost is $949. The last module of information for the company to submit in seeking final FDA approval comes in the first half of 2026.

A bill regarding Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) screening is currently before congress. It was passed unanimously (38-0) out of the House Committee on Ways and Means. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network is hopeful it will be passed in the coming weeks.

The bill enjoys broad bipartisan support with 318 sponsors in the House and 63 sponsors in the Senate. While the current bill doesn’t mandate Medicare coverage, it would allow the Medicare program to determine coverage if clinical benefit is shown.

Carper wrote a letter to congressional leaders last week supporting the bill.

“Tad’s willingness to help bring awareness is so important,” Dr. Ofman said. “It will hopefully reach countless people who can then benefit from screening.”

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