00:02A blood test designed to screen for dozens of different cancers at once just got a big boost
00:07from an FDA advisory panel. It's called Galeri, and with a single blood draw, it looks for DNA
00:13signals linked to more than 50 types of cancer. The test is intended for people 50 and older,
00:19and in a large study of more than 140,000 people, it detected about a third of the cancers that
00:25were eventually diagnosed. But there are limitations. The test was much better at finding
00:31later-stage cancers than early ones, and FDA reviewers also worry a negative result could
00:37give some people false reassurance and lead them to skip routine screenings. Galeri is already
00:43available in the U.S., but it's not yet FDA-approved, and patients generally have to pay for it
00:49themselves. Full approval could make insurance coverage more likely. The FDA doesn't have to
00:55follow the panel's recommendation and hasn't said when it will make a final decision.
