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Exact Sciences Corporation EXAS has unveiled data highlighting significant advancements in the development of a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test. The results of the DETECT-A (Detecting cancers Early Through Elective mutation-based blood Collection and Testing) study, which evaluated a new multi-biomarker class approach, showed improved sensitivity for early-stage and overall cancer detection.
The findings from the study were presented at the AACR (American Association of Cancer Research) Special Conference: Liquid Biopsy 2024, held in San Diego, CA.
Likely EXAS Stock Movement Following the News
After the Nov. 13 announcement, EXAS’ shares dipped 1.7%, finishing at $49.33 on Friday. On a positive note, the Exact Sciences team is advancing in its most impactful programs — colon cancer screening, molecular residual disease testing and multi-cancer screening. The company also has plans to introduce several novel tests, which will revolutionize how cancer is identified, tracked and managed, further fueling its growth. Accordingly, we expect the market sentiment surrounding the EXAS stock to remain positive surrounding this development.
Exact Sciences currently has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion. The company has an estimated long-term earnings growth of 37.1% compared with the industry’s 21%. It has delivered an earnings beat of 29.94%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.
Relevance of Exact Sciences’ New Study
Cancer is pacing to become the leading cause of death in the United States by 2030, yet only 14% of all cancers are currently diagnosed through screening. MCED testing is a major opportunity to address this stark gap in patient care.
The company’s DETECT-A study was the first-ever large, prospective, interventional study to use a blood test to detect multiple types of cancer in a real-world setting. It enrolled more than 10,000 women with no history of cancer to determine if a blood test in combination with standard-of-care screenings could detect cancers before signs and symptoms appeared.
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The research will help inform the final design of Exact Sciences’ Cancerguard test, which is currently in development and intends to harness the additive sensitivity of multiple biomarker classes to detect more cancers in earlier stages.
More on EXAS’ Study Findings
The study demonstrates the ability of a multi-biomarker class MCED test to improve early-stage sensitivity by incorporating a DNA mutation reflex approach to methylation and protein (MP) test results. When excluding breast and prostate cancer and at a 98.5% specificity, sensitivity increased by 28% for stage I cancers and 12.5% for early-stage cancers (stages I and II) in a case-control study, underscoring the potential of a three-biomarker class (DNA methylation, protein, DNA mutation reflex, or MP-r) test to improve the detection of cancer in earlier stages.