The Pathfinder 2 study study looks at how well a multi-cancer early detection test called Galleri® detects many cancer types.

The Early Detection program (CEDAR) and Community Outreach and Engagement team at Knight Cancer Institute, along with other sites nationwide, will recruit 50,000 participants (with the possibility for even more) to be screened for more than 50 types of cancer using the test, which requires just a simple blood draw. 

ORPRN's relationship with Oregon's rural clinics — especially the Gorge's One Community Health — is a key piece of that recruitment.

ORPRN staffers join with One Community Health, also known as La Clinica, at their mobile medical outreach events. They've appeared at community and cultural events as well as food banks and fruit packing houses. They are there to increase awareness and recruit participants to screen for the study.

"We are grateful for our clinic relationships because it allows us to reach a diverse group of participants. We're trying to diversify participation in research to make it more reflective of the actual population," notes Laura Ferrara, M.A., an ORPRN Clincal Research Associate based in Hood River.

Since May of 2020, ORPRN staff in the Gorge have enrolled more than 200 participants in the study. For questions about the Pathfinder 2 study, contact Gorgepathfinder@ohsu.edu