Study discussant David G. Huntsman, MD, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Contextual Genomics, noted the positive predictive value of DETECT-A was 19%, which increased to 41% with the addition of positron-emission tomography/computed tomography. He pointed out that most cancers detected by the blood-based screening test were local or regional. When the test was combined with conventional screening methods, the number of cancers doubled.

David G. Huntsman, MD

Dr. Huntsman cited the following unanswered questions:

• What types of usual screening methods were used?
• How were false-positive results ruled out?
• How would the test’s sensitivity and negative predictive value be determined without the use of whole-body magnetic resonance imaging or some other method?
• How long until a meaningful survival analysis can be performed?
• What is the optimal testing schedule?
• Will such screening contribute to overdiagnosis and overtreatment? 

DISCLOSURE: Dr. Huntsman is Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Contextual Genomics.