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Liquid biopsies -- tests that detect circulating tumor cellular components in the bloodstream -- have the potential to transform cancer by reducing health inequities in screening, diagnostics, and monitoring. Today, liquid biopsies are being used to guide treatment choices for patients and monitor for cancer recurrence, and promising work in multi-cancer early detection is ongoing.

However, without awareness of the barriers to adoption of this new technology and a willingness to build mitigation efforts into the implementation of widespread liquid biopsy testing, the communities that could most benefit may be the last to access and use them.

In this work, we review the challenges likely to affect the accessibility of liquid biopsies in both the general population and underserved populations, and recommend specific actions to facilitate equitable access for all patients.

We hope to create a useful roadmap for all stakeholders, including clinicians, payers, regulators, policymakers, and patient groups, to collaborate and enact change in this field.

To begin this process, the Blood Profiling Atlas in Cancer (BLOODPAC) has launched the Accessibility Working Group to continue identifying key barriers to clinical use and access to liquid biopsy and accelerate clinical adoption.

Specific goals of the BLOODPAC Accessibility Working Group are to:

• Support the development of a standardized lexicon of terms for all use cases of liquid biopsy

• Develop educational content for providers on liquid biopsy technology and clinical applications, for dissemination by member organizations

• Work with BLOODPAC's reimbursement and data working groups to assess liquid biopsy value for each use case

• Explore avenues toward establishing the analytic validity of alternative, home-based collection of liquid biopsies

We hope that the specific actions suggested here will ensure that the next decade will bring equitable adoption of this novel precision medicine technology to every community in need. Our success will be measured in our ability to prevent the introduction of new accessibility barriers into the continuum of cancer care and ensuring these technologies can be used to improve cancer outcomes for all.

Read an interview about the recommendations here.