Valerie’s story
Gallbladder Cancer
Valerie lives an active life and has always been fascinated with health and longevity. She takes joy in staying well so she can spend as much time as possible with her granddaughter. With no health concerns, she never expected cancer to become part of her journey.
Valerie first learned about Galleri while reading. Intrigued by the idea of a simple blood test that could screen for many cancers, she decided to pursue it.
“I was reading a book, and it mentioned the Galleri test, and they mentioned that it checks for cancers, and it was a simple blood test, and I thought, ‘That’s genius,’” she recalled. “I think I want to take that test.”
The test itself was straightforward; After a simple blood draw, her test was sent to GRAIL.
Not long after, Valerie received a call that changed everything. The test revealed a cancer signal with a gallbladder origin. Subsequent imaging showed her gallbladder was full of stones and needed to be removed. But the bigger surprise came after surgery, when the pathology report revealed a four-and-a-half centimeter tumor in her gallbladder.
“My surgeon has taken out about 1,500 gallbladders,” Valerie recalled. “He said mine was the third one that he’s seen that had cancer.”
The diagnosis was unexpected, but Valerie is grateful it was found early and that she could begin treatment right away. Valerie underwent six months of chemotherapy and now remains focused on her future.
“I feel like this test was made for me and I appreciate it so much. I’m gonna be able to live my life, because we found it so soon.”
The Galleri test does not detect a signal for all cancers and not all cancers can be detected in the blood. False positive and false negative results do occur. Galleri is a screening test and does not diagnose cancer. Diagnostic testing is needed to confirm cancer.
The overall sensitivity in study participants with gallbladder cancer was 70.6% (0% for stage I, 33.3% stage II, 75.0% stage III, 100% stage IV).
Important Safety Information
The Galleri test is recommended for use in adults with an elevated risk for cancer, such as those aged 50 or older. The Galleri test does not detect all cancers and should be used in addition to routine cancer screening tests recommended by a healthcare provider. Galleri is intended to detect cancer signals and predict where in the body the cancer signal is located. Use of Galleri is not recommended in individuals who are pregnant, 21 years old or younger, or undergoing active cancer treatment.
Results should be interpreted by a healthcare provider in the context of medical history, clinical signs and symptoms. A test result of “Cancer Signal Not Detected” does not rule out cancer. A test result of “Cancer Signal Detected” requires confirmatory diagnostic evaluation by medically established procedures (e.g. imaging) to confirm cancer.
If cancer is not confirmed with further testing, it could mean that cancer is not present or testing was insufficient to detect cancer, including due to the cancer being located in a different part of the body. False-positive (a cancer signal detected when cancer is not present) and false-negative (a cancer signal not detected when cancer is present) test results do occur. Rx only.
Laboratory/test information
GRAIL’s clinical laboratory is certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) and accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP). The Galleri test was developed, and its performance characteristics were determined by GRAIL. The Galleri test has not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. GRAIL’s clinical laboratory is regulated under CLIA to perform high-complexity testing. The Galleri test is intended for clinical purposes.