One blood draw. More than fifty cancers screened. Including the ones that kill people precisely because they are caught too late.
Exact Sciences launched Cancerguard in September 2025 — a multi-cancer early detection blood test that analyses multiple biomarker classes from a single sample to detect signals from more than 50 cancer types and subtypes. It is the most comprehensive cancer screening test ever made commercially available.
The Cancers That Currently Have No Screening
Most people die of pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, liver cancer, and esophageal cancer because they have no symptoms until the disease is advanced — and because there has been no standard test to catch them early. Cancerguard targets all of these, alongside 46 other cancer types.
In test-development studies, Cancerguard demonstrated 68% sensitivity across the six deadliest cancers combined, with an overall sensitivity of 64% across all cancer types included. It detected more than one-third of all stage I or II cancers. Crucially, it achieved a specificity of 97.4% — meaning very few false positives, which would trigger unnecessary follow-up procedures.
The Scale of the Opportunity
Modelling of the technology suggests that pairing Cancerguard with existing standard screening could reduce stage IV (late-stage) diagnoses by 42% and overall cancer mortality by 18% over a ten-year period. Over a decade, that represents millions of lives.
The test costs $689 and became available through healthcare providers in October 2025, with telehealth access broadened further since then. Exact Sciences has partnered with Quest Diagnostics for blood collection, and offers care navigator services and patient imaging assistance for anyone who receives a positive result.
Not a Replacement — An Addition
Oncologists are clear that Cancerguard is intended to complement, not replace, existing mammograms, colonoscopies, PSA tests, and other standard screenings. But for the dozens of cancers with no current screening pathway, it is the first tool that gives doctors a way to look.
The test is recommended for adults aged 50-84 with no known cancer diagnosis in the past three years.
Sources: Exact Sciences press release, FierceBiotech, LabMedica (September 2025 launch, available 2026)
