Virginia Cancer Screening Research Network launches study to evaluate tests to detect several cancers
VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center is involved in the Vanguard Study, a national project to assess a new blood test to screen for early signs of cancer.
July 16, 2025
Three Virginia health systems, including VCU Health, will serve as one of seven Accrual, Enrollment and Screening Site (ACCESS) Hubs to conduct research for the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Screening Research Network (CSRN). (Getty Images)
By Blake Belden
The Virginia Cancer Screening Research Network (CSRN) — led by a multidisciplinary team of experts at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Inova Schar Cancer Institute and Sentara Health — is recruiting participants for the Vanguard Study, a national study evaluating a new type of blood test that screens for several types of cancer in their earliest, most treatable stages.
Researchers will determine whether multi-cancer detection (MCD) tests, which can detect biological substances released in the bloodstream by cancer cells, are able to effectively screen people for 10 different types of cancer, including bladder, breast, colorectal, esophageal, liver, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate and stomach.
“We’re thrilled to serve as leaders in this national effort to understand how multi-cancer detection tests work for the people in our communities,” said Alex Krist, M.D., M.P.H., co-principal investigator for the Virginia CSRN, research member at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and a professor of family medicine and population health at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. “If we find evidence that these tests can identify cancers in people before they develop symptoms, this will be a major step forward in our long-term goal of reducing deaths for multiple cancers where we currently have no screening options or for which the current options are more invasive.”
This is the first study through the Cancer Screening Research Network, a new national network of primary care sites devoted to cancer screening research that is funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. As part of this national network, the Virginia CSRN is a partnership between VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and the C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research with VCU Health; the Inova Schar Cancer Institute and its Saville Cancer Screening and Prevention Center; and Sentara Health and the Sentara Health Research Center.
The newly launched Vanguard Study will recruit adults ages 45 to 75 with no cancer diagnosis in the past five years. Study participants will give two blood samples — one year apart — and complete regular cancer screening as recommended by clinicians. Participants will be randomized to one of three groups: two groups where their blood will be tested by an MCD test or a third control group in which their blood will be stored for potential future research. There is no cost to participate in this study.
“By joining this study, participants can play a vital role in advancing cancer research and understanding emerging screening approaches,” said Patrick Nana-Sinkam, M.D., co-principal investigator for the Virginia CSRN hub, Linda Grandis Blatt Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at Massey and the associate vice president of clinical and translational research at VCU Health. “Along with our partners at Inova and Sentara, we will be responsible for enrolling about 2,000 Virginians over the next two years.”
Within the first couple weeks of the study being active, more than 20 participants have already been enrolled through the Virginia CSRN hub.
The study is an important preliminary step in the larger plan to evaluate how well MCD tests work for reducing cancer mortality in our communities. The findings will provide information on how MCD tests may be utilized as cancer screening tools and guide the decisions that patients and their doctors make based on their results.
