Illumina announces cancer testing start-up

Illumina has announced it is launching GRAIL, a start-up that allows patients to screen for cancer via a simple blood test, which is then screened using Illumina technology to detect genetic evidence of cancer in the blood. The test aims to diagnose cancer in its earliest stages, for patients presenting with no symptoms, allowing doctors the best shot at treating it. GRAIL will seek out genetic mutations using so-called 'liquid biopsies', analysing fragments of DNA for any of the tell-tale fingerprints of cancer. False-positives are a key risk in screening large populations of healthy people, but Illumina CEO, Jay Flatley said that whilst it is crucial the test “doesn’t have a high false-positive rate,” the test is well-placed to be highly accurate as it is "actually measuring mutations from cancer cells." GRAIL expects to enter clinical trials by 2017, and hopes to have a "pan-cancer screening test" on the market by 2019. 

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