Intermountain Announces Participation in New Study Evaluating Investigational Multi-Cancer Early Detection Blood Test

Intermountain Healthcare today announced it will participate in the PATHFINDER Study, a prospective, multi-center study to evaluate the implementation of an investigational multi-cancer early detection blood test into clinical practice for the first time.

The earlier cancer is detected, the greater the chance of survival. Today, the majority of deadly cancers do not have U.S. guideline-recommended screening paradigms, and as a result, many cancers are not detected until they have progressed to late stages. The PATHFINDER Study will evaluate an investigational blood test designed to detect and identify the location of multiple types of deadly cancer across stages I-IV through a single blood draw. The test aims to detect cancers in early stages that otherwise may not be detected until symptoms appear, when the chances of survival are lower. The multi-cancer early detection test is developed by GRAIL, a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early when it can be cured, and who is the study sponsor.

“We are excited to participate in this study that will generate new insights around how early cancer detection is used in clinical practice, as we work toward improving the future of cancer care,” said Lincoln Nadauld, MD, PhD, chief of Precision Health at Intermountain Precision Genomics. “This blood test could allow us to detect cancers that don’t have screening today, and detect them earlier.

In a prior clinical study of approximately 15,000 people, the test demonstrated the ability to detect more than 50 deadly cancer types across all stages, with a very low false positive rate of less than 1 percent. A low false positive rate is important to minimize the associated harms of patient anxiety and unnecessary diagnostic workups. When a cancer signal was detected, the test also demonstrated the ability to identify where in the body the cancer is located with high accuracy, a critical component to enable the providers to efficiently guide PATHFINDER participants through the appropriate diagnostics to arrive at a diagnostic resolution.

The PATHFINDER Study plans to enroll approximately 6,200 total participants who opt in, including many in the greater Utah area. The study is designed to evaluate the use of GRAIL’s multi-cancer early detection test in clinical practice.

“We believe multi-cancer early detection has the potential to address a tremendous unmet need and reduce the cancer burden worldwide,” said Hans Bishop, Chief Executive Officer at GRAIL. “The PATHFINDER Study is an important step in evaluating how GRAIL’s multi-cancer early detection test, that was designed to detect all cancer types, can most effectively be implemented in clinical practice. We are honored to partner with Intermountain Healthcare in this endeavor, and grateful to all the participants in Utah who are helping to bring this potentially transformative technology to patients, providers, and communities.”

About the PATHFINDER Study
The PATHFINDER Study is evaluating the implementation of GRAIL’s investigational multi-cancer early detection test in clinical practice, and marks the first time GRAIL’s test will be used to return results to people. PATHFINDER will enroll approximately 6,200 participants across several health systems and is sponsored by GRAIL. PATHFINDER is being conducted under an FDA approval of an IDE application for GRAIL’s multi-cancer early detection blood test.

GRAIL’s test is not yet available for use outside of this investigational study. It is not meant to replace the cancer screening tests healthcare providers may recommend, such as colonoscopy or mammography. For more information, visit https://grail.com/clinical-studies/pathfinder-study/.


About GRAIL
GRAIL is a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. GRAIL is focused on alleviating the global burden of cancer by developing pioneering technology to detect and identify multiple deadly cancer types early. The company is using the power of next-generation sequencing, population-scale clinical studies, and state-of-the-art computer science and data science to enhance the scientific understanding of cancer biology, and to develop its multi-cancer early detection blood test. GRAIL is located in Menlo Park, California and Washington, D.C. It is supported by leading global investors and pharmaceutical, technology, and healthcare companies. For more information, please visit www.grail.com.

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