Early Cancer Detection in Primary Care

Despite significant advances in therapy, cancer continues to impose enormous medical, economic, and social burdens. Each year in the United States, approximately 1700 people die from cancer each day, making it the leading cause of mortality in people younger than 80 years old. The costs of treating cancer, including drugs, hospitalization, and ambulatory care, exceed $157 billion annually. Indirect costs, including lost productivity and absenteeism, add nearly another $100 billion to the tally. Early detection is an essential step in reducing the burdens of cancer. Identifying cancer at its earliest stages improves outcomes by allowing therapy to begin sooner, decreasing treatment costs and complexity, reducing morbidity and mortality, and improving quality of life. Liquid biopsy-based multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests have been developed to support population-based screening of asymptomatic individuals for dozens of cancer types. This multimedia educational activity has been designed to help primary care clinicians-the most important facilitators of preventive healthcare and cancer screening-understand the technology behind MCED tests, interpret data from clinical trials, engage in shared decision-making to determine which patients should be tested, and plan for follow-up examinations in response to a positive test.