Towards responsible ctDNA-based multi-cancer screening: a preliminary exploration and discussion of ethically relevant aspects

While testing for easily accessible biomarkers in the circulation (“liquid biopsy”) has found its way to clinical cancer care, a further expected development is its use as a “universal” early detection test in population screening for cancer. A promising marker for such screening is circulating cell-free fragments of tumor DNA, shed into the circulation during tumor cell turnover. Several blood-based “multicancer early detection (MCED) tests” have recently been developed - but still need validation in large-scale studies involving non-patient populations. In this paper, we proactively explore the ethical aspects of this development. We refer to an often quoted synthesis of the internationally accepted framework of principles for responsible screening as first drawn up for the World Health Organisation (WHO) by Wilson and Junger 50 years ago and further developed and fine-tuned ever since. As our analysis suggests, some specific ethical issues and concerns about potential MCED screening connect to the fact that cancer is not just one disease. As a consequence, not all findings will have the same clinical utility. We discuss this against the background of earlier debates pertaining to broad scope forms of screening in other contexts, specifically newborn and reproductive genetic screening. We highlight the guidance provided by some of the criteria from the screening framework that seems most relevant in this connection: the need for screening objectives to be defined at the outset, the need for mechanisms to minimize potential risks, and the requirement that, for those participating in the screening, the overall benefits outweigh the harm.