GRAIL’s mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured
Why early matters
Diagnosing cancer early results in significantly higher survival rates compared to late-stage diagnosis.
However, effective screening only exists for a few cancer types, and most cancer is detected in later stages, when survival rates are much lower.
Late-Stage
Survival Rate
1X
Early-Stage
Survival Rate
5 - 10X higher
Aravanis AM, Lee M, Klausner RD. Cell. 2017; 168(4):571–574, 9.
The magnitude of our challenge
Human biology is complex, and research continues to reveal that the underlying mechanisms of cancer are even more diverse and elusive than previously understood—making early detection of cancer a challenge.
Extensive research suggests that cancer may be directly detectable with DNA shed by tumors into the bloodstream.
However, developing an effective early detection test that distinguishes between people with and without cancer is a “needle in a haystack” problem and requires harnessing data from hundreds of thousands of people. Together, this creates an unprecedented data challenge.
GRAIL’s approach
GRAIL aims to develop a blood test to detect cancer early before symptoms appear.
To achieve this, we are building intelligent models to identify clinically actionable information from vast amounts of tumor genome data obtained through high-intensity sequencing.
To achieve this, we are building intelligent models to identify clinically actionable information from vast amounts of tumor genome data obtained through high-intensity sequencing.
Where hope meets rigor
At GRAIL, we’re unrelenting in pursuit of our mission and will not stop until we find a better way. With the best talent in biology, clinical science, bioinformatics, deep learning, and engineering along with the passion of our leadership, our goal is to greatly decrease global cancer mortality.