Mashantucket ― Blood samples taken last week from dozens of older members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe will be subjected to a pioneering new test that its developer says can detect some 50 different forms of cancer in a single draw.

Dr. Setu Vora, the tribe’s chief medical officer, said Thursday tribal leaders had decided to engage with Grail, the Menlo Park, Calif.-based heath care company behind the test, after “watching them from a distance for two or three years” and then closely monitoring them for more than a year.

The tribal council is intent on providing tribal members with access to the latest technology related to the early detection of diseases, Vora said.

“Our health team keeps abreast of new developments,” he said. “We’re concerned about all medical conditions, but mostly heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity ― diseases that are particularly prevalent among Indigenous populations. We see where the need is, and then we look for potential solutions.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s “health care engagement,” including submitting to various screenings and tests, diminished precipitously. Colonoscopies and breast cancer screenings, for example, were down by as much as 80%, Vora said, with the likely result that more advanced-stage cancers would be detected in the future.

He said the turnout among tribal members at Saturday’s blood draw on the Mashantucket reservation represents about a quarter of the tribe’s 200 “elders,” a status conferred on tribal members 55 and older.

Trademarked as “Galleri,” the Grail multi-cancer early detection test looks for a cancer signal ― DNA from a tumor ― shared by more than 50 types of cancers, many of which are not commonly screened for and that would otherwise go unnoticed before symptoms appear, Grail says on its website. The test is intended to predict where in the body the cancer signal is located.

Screenings and tests are available for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate cancers, “but the scary thing is that 70% of cancers do not have any screening methods,” Vora said. “So, offering a multi-cancer detection program is desirable.”

Galleri is recommended for adults with an elevated risk for cancer, such as those 50 and older. It is not recommended for those who are pregnant, 21 or younger or undergoing cancer treatment.

Vora said patients receive the results of their blood tests in about two weeks and have the option of bringing it to a clinic, say, or having it sent to a primary care provider for a diagnosis. The Galleri test is intended to complement routine cancer screenings for more comprehensive early cancer detection.

Among tribal populations, lung, stomach, liver and kidney cancers are especially prevalent, though each tribe is unique, Vora said. Locally, breast, prostate and lung cancers are seen most often.

He said the tribe is covering the cost of its members’ Galleri tests. The list price of a test is $949, according to the Grail website.

“Generally, there are a combination of risk factors, including family and environmental exposures,” he said. “We know the risk can be reduced by greater activity ― 150 minutes a week of at least moderate exercise ― and a diet of more plant-based food, and reduced tobacco and alcohol use.

“The goal is to maximize lifestyle modification, which can give so much benefit. More than pharmaceuticals can.”

b.hallenbeck@the day.com