GRAIL PATHFINDER 2 Results Show Galleri ® Multi-Cancer Early Detection Blood Test Increased Cancer Detection More Than Seven-Fold When Added to USPSTF A and B Recommended Screenings
GRAIL PATHFINDER 2 Results Show Galleri ® Multi-Cancer Early Detection Blood Test Increased Cancer Detection More Than Seven-Fold When Added to USPSTF A and B Recommended Screenings |
[17-October-2025] |
More Than Half of Cancers Detected by Galleri Were Early Stage Approximately Three-Quarters of Galleri-Detected Cancers Do Not Have Recommended Screenings PATHFINDER 2 is the Largest U.S. Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) Interventional Study in the Cancer Screening Population MENLO PARK, Calif., Oct. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- GRAIL, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRAL), a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early when it can be cured, today announced that positive performance and safety results from its registrational PATHFINDER 2 study are being presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 20251. PATHFINDER 2 evaluated the safety and performance of the Galleri® multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test when used alongside standard-of-care cancer screenings. The largest interventional study of an MCED test in the United States to date, the prospective PATHFINDER 2 study includes 35,878 enrolled participants across the United States and Canada in a broad, intended-use population of adults aged 50 and older with no clinical suspicion of cancer. Results were presented from a pre-specified analysis of the first 25,578 participants with at least 12 months of follow-up as of Dec. 31, 2024. Of these, 23,161 were analyzable for performance and 25,114 were analyzable for safety. "Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide as most deadly cancers are found too late. Adding Galleri to recommended screening for breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung cancers in PATHFINDER 2 yielded a more than seven-fold increase in the cancer detection rate, and more than half of the Galleri detected new cancers were found in early stages, when cancers are more treatable and potentially even curable. Galleri's ability to accurately predict where in the body the cancer signal comes from also helps to guide a more efficient diagnostic workup," said Josh Ofman, MD, MSHS, President at GRAIL. "These results are extremely compelling as approximately three-quarters of the Galleri-detected cancers do not have recommended screening tests today. Galleri is the only MCED test available that has been validated in an interventional trial in the screening population and could transform how we deliver cancer screening at a population level." Finding More Cancers, Earlier By Adding the Galleri Test More than half (53.5%) of the new cancers detected by Galleri were stage I or II and more than two-thirds (69.3%) were detected at stages I-III. "Cancer screening saves lives, but we routinely screen for just four or five cancer types in the United States today and approximately 70% of cancer deaths come from cancers that do not have standard-of-care screening and are typically caught too late," said Nima Nabavizadeh, MD, Associate Professor of Radiation Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. "Data from PATHFINDER 2 show that Galleri could fundamentally change our approach to cancer screening, helping to detect many types of cancer earlier, when the chance of successful treatment or even cure are the greatest." High Performance and Low Risk of False Alarms Since PATHFINDER 2 is a prospective clinical trial where the cancer status of participants is unknown at the outset, episode sensitivity – the ability to detect cancer that could be confirmed within 12 months after the blood draw – is a performance measure of the study. Galleri demonstrated strong performance, with 73.7% episode sensitivity for the 12 cancers responsible for two-thirds of cancer deaths in the U.S. For all cancers, episode sensitivity was 40.4%. Specificity was 99.6%, translating to a false positive rate of only 0.4%. "Any multi-cancer early detection test used for population screening should aim to detect as many aggressive cancers as possible before symptoms arise and maximize the likelihood that a positive test result is actually cancer. The PATHFINDER 2 results demonstrate that the Galleri test is doing just that, increasing the number of cancers detected more than seven-fold when added to recommended screening for breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung cancers, and with a very low false positive rate," said Ofman. "What's especially promising is that Galleri showed strong sensitivity at detecting many of the cancers responsible for the majority of cancer deaths, which we believe provides clinicians with a clinically valuable and validated screening tool." High Accuracy of Cancer Signal Origin Enabled Efficient Diagnostic Evaluation MCED test safety was evaluated in an analyzable cohort of 25,114 participants. No serious, study-related adverse events were reported during the diagnostic workup. Data from this study will be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of the Galleri premarket approval (PMA) application, along with data from the prevalent screening round of the NHS-Galleri trial. In addition, GRAIL will submit to the FDA a bridging analysis to compare performance of the version of Galleri used in the PATHFINDER 2 study and the NHS-Galleri trial to the updated version that GRAIL plans to submit to the FDA for premarket approval. GRAIL expects to complete the PMA modular submission for Galleri, which is under a Breakthrough Device Designation, in the first half of 2026. Conference call and webcast with the investment community Please register for the live event at this link. To ensure timely connection, please register for the teleconference and join the webcast at least ten minutes before the scheduled start of the call. The live webcast and recorded replay are open to all interested parties. About the PATHFINDER 2 Study (NCT05155605) About GRAIL For more information, visit grail.com. About Galleri® For more information, visit galleri.com. * The Galleri test performance metrics were derived from the outcomes of an interventional clinical study of patients presenting for screening without clinical suspicion of cancer, a study population that reflects the intended use population. ** Test performance metrics do not represent results of a head-to-head comparative study. Separate studies have different designs, objectives, and participant populations, which limits the ability to draw conclusions about comparative performance. Important Galleri Safety Information Results should be interpreted by a healthcare provider in the context of medical history, clinical signs, and symptoms. A test result of No Cancer Signal Detected does not rule out cancer. A test result of Cancer Signal Detected requires confirmatory diagnostic evaluation by medically established procedures (e.g., imaging) to confirm cancer. Laboratory/Test Information Forward Looking Statements These statements are only predictions based on the Company's current expectations and projections about future events and trends. There are important factors that could cause actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially and adversely from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including those factors and numerous associated risks discussed under the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2024 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2025 and June 30, 2025. Moreover, the Company operates in a dynamic and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for the Company's management to predict all risks, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially and adversely from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to the future and, accordingly, are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of the Company's control. Although the Company believes the expectations and projections expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. Actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Except to the extent required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform prior statements to actual results or revised expectations or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events. References:
SOURCE GRAIL, Inc. | ||
Company Codes: NASDAQ-NMS:GRAL |