Recent reductions in cancer mortality are due in part to risk reduction behaviors like smoking cessation and more strongly to early detection of cancer coupled with appropriate therapy. Yet, there are no validated molecular biomarker tests for the early detection of any cancer (see Table I). Among the list of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved biomarkers, none have been approved for cancer early detection and screening. EDRN is studying more than 120 biomarkers for the major organ system groups (see Table 2), some of which are in Phase 3 testing, a retrospective longitudinal approach that determines how well biomarkers detect.
