Multi-cancer early detection blood test in Singapore

It is a single blood draw analysed with next-generation sequencing for fragments of tumour DNA and the chemical marks carried on them. Instead of looking at one organ at a time, one sample is screened for signals associated with many cancers at once, including several that have no routine screening programme in Singapore.

All prices are after GST. The 10-cancer ctDNA panel is S$900. The sequencing panels are S$1,050 for 5 cancers, S$1,700 for the women's 7, S$2,500 for the women's 12 and the men's 12, and S$4,500 for the 50-cancer panel. The doctor consultation is quoted at booking, and confirmatory imaging or a specialist referral is quoted separately and only if a signal is detected.

Breadth, not accuracy. The 5-cancer panel covers lung, colorectal, liver, pancreatic and thyroid. The women's 12 adds breast, ovarian, cervical, endometrial, stomach, nasopharyngeal and gastrointestinal stromal tumour. The men's 12 adds prostate, kidney, bladder, oesophageal, stomach, nasopharyngeal and gastrointestinal stromal tumour. The 50-cancer panel adds haematological, skin, soft tissue and rarer cancers on top.

It depends on your risk profile, not on the number. Testing for more cancers does not make detection of any one of them more accurate, and every additional target adds a small chance of a signal that turns out to be benign. It makes most sense where there is a family history of a less common cancer, or where you want the widest net and are comfortable with the follow-up that a positive can trigger.

Less accurate than for advanced disease, and it matters. Small early tumours shed very little DNA into blood, so detection rates at stage I are materially lower than at stage III or IV, and they also vary between cancer types. Specificity is high, meaning false alarms are uncommon, but no MCED test rules cancer out. Your doctor goes through what this means for your own risk before you decide to test.

No. It is designed to sit alongside guideline screening, not to replace it. Colonoscopy, mammography, Pap or HPV testing and PSA remain the recommended tools for the cancers they cover. The value of an MCED test is in the cancers those programmes do not look for at all.

A detected signal is not a diagnosis. We call you within one working day of the report and book a review consultation. The report usually names one or two likely tissues of origin, which directs targeted imaging, endoscopy or a specialist referral, typically arranged within one to two weeks. Some signals turn out to have a benign explanation.

It means no cancer signal was detected in that sample on that day. It is a snapshot, not a prediction, and it does not rule cancer out, particularly early-stage disease that sheds little DNA into blood. Keep your routine screening, and report new or persistent symptoms regardless of the result.

Around 12 working days for the 10-cancer ctDNA panel, and roughly 12 to 18 working days for the sequencing panels. We contact you as soon as the report is released and book a review consultation.

Fees are private and payable in full at the visit. MediSave, CHAS and Healthier SG subsidies do not apply. Some insurance plans cover consultations and investigations on a reimbursement basis: you pay the clinic and claim back from your insurer afterwards. The concierge provides the documentation you need and helps with the claim paperwork. Instalment payment is available: ask the concierge about the options before your visit.

Annually is the usual interval for people who choose to include it, because the test reflects one moment rather than future risk. Your doctor may suggest a different interval based on your age, family history and what your other screening shows.

Yes. It needs only a routine venous blood draw of about 10ml, with no fasting, no preparation and no imaging, so it can be added to a health screening visit on the same day.

It is most often considered by adults from around age 40, and earlier where there is a significant family history of cancer or another elevated-risk factor. It is a screening test for people without symptoms. If you already have symptoms, diagnostic assessment comes first, not screening.