26213 Arnold Ventures Webinar

How Will We Know They Work? Challenges in Evaluating Multicancer Detection Tests

March 31, 2026 | 1:00 PM-2:00 PM ET

Company Overview:

Arnold Ventures is a philanthropy that supports research to understand the root causes of America’s most persistent and pressing problems, as well as evidence-based solutions to address them. By focusing on systemic change, AV is working to improve the lives of American families, strengthen their communities, and promote their economic opportunity. Since Laura and John Arnold launched their foundation in 2008, the philanthropy has expanded, and Arnold Ventures’ focus areas include education, criminal justice, health, infrastructure, and public finance, advocating for bipartisan policy reforms that will lead to lasting, scalable change. The Arnolds became signatories of the Giving Pledge in 2010.

Webinar Overview:

Multicancer early detection (MCED) tests have generated great enthusiasm and are becoming available in the U.S. Well-designed clinical trials are needed to determine whether they truly improve health outcomes or if they increase cancer diagnosis rates without ultimately saving lives. In addition, during a trial, if MCED testing leads to increased demand for limited follow-up services such as imaging or endoscopy, this could lead to increased wait times, delayed diagnosis, and worse outcomes for control group patients in the same health system. Trials evaluating MCED and other technologies that affect care delivery should be designed to account for such spillover effects, or they risk overestimating intervention benefits.

Featured Topics:

Cancer screening and diagnostics
Clinical trial design
Study endpoints
Spillover bias

Speakers:

Sean Mann, MSc
Senior Policy Analyst, RAND

Sean Mann is a senior policy analyst at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the RAND School of Public Policy. His work explores critical issues in clinical trial design and the use of artificial intelligence in health care.

Rita Redberg, MD, MS
Professor, Medicine
University of California San Francisco

Dr. Redberg is a general Cardiologist and interested in preventive cardiology. Her research interests are in our use of medical procedures and devices. She studies the regulatory process for medical devices and the strength of evidence that supports them, particularly high-risk devices, both before and after they are marketed. She is a strong proponent of high-quality data to support safety and effectiveness for medical devices, in order to provide the best quality and appropriate medical care and advice. Dr Redberg has testified before Congress multiple times on these issues. Dr. Redberg served as Editor-in-Chief of JAMA Internal Medicine and on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which advises Congress on medical payment policy.

Sanket Dhruva, MD, MHS
Associate Professor, Medicine
University of California San Francisco

Dr. Dhruva is an Associate Professor of Medicine who uses health services research methods to understand and strengthen the evidence base for the safe and effective use of drugs and medical devices, with the goal of improving the quality of care and clinical outcomes for patients. One central focus is on reducing low-value care from medical devices. Dr. Dhruva has more than 250 peer-reviewed publications, including in leading academic journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), JAMA Internal Medicine, and BMJ.