In 2026, Costa Rica will finally gain access to one of the world’s most advanced medical technologies. one capable of simultaneously detecting nine types of cancer in a short period of time and even before the body shows any warning signs. This was announced by the Center for Research in Surgery and Cancer (CICICA) at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), which has become the first institution in Central America and the Caribbean to implement this innovative procedure.
The test, called Oncoseek, can detect nine types of cancer: stomach, breast, esophagus, pancreas, liver, ovary, intestine, lymphoma, and lung. It does so through a liquid biopsy, requiring only an 8 mL blood sample. According to Dr. Rodrigo Mora, director of CICICA-UCR, the test has been used internationally for several years as an early warning tool for the possible presence of cancer. Any positive finding must then be confirmed through specific clinical tests.
With this small blood sample, Oncoseek technology can identify tumor markers that signal the presence of cancer even before symptoms appear, at a stage when only subtle traces exist and often go unnoticed by traditional detection methods. To better understand this, consider the following analogy.
The human body is like a large city inhabited by healthy cells and, inevitably, problematic ones. In this case, the problematic cells are cancer cells, which tend to leave behind traces, often very subtle, yet still present. This is where Oncoseek comes in: a highly meticulous “detective” capable of finding even the faintest traces left by cancer cells. These traces are tumor markers that circulate, hidden, in the bloodstream.
“This is a one-of-a-kind test in Costa Rica. Until now, there was no test available in our country for apparently healthy people at risk of cancer. Now, we are offering this option with the goal of providing ultra-early warning of the presence of transformed cells and identifying the tissue of origin,” said Dr. Mora.
According to Jesper Verhey, M.Sc., commercial director of OncoInv, the UCR is well positioned to take advantage of one of the technology’s main benefits: its algorithm, which analyzes the relationships between tumor markers and clinical factors. This integrated analysis significantly reduces false positives compared to standard methods that evaluate multiple tumor markers individually, a practice still common in Costa Rica. Available data supports this improvement.
Dr. Verhey explained that Oncoseek’s sensitivity, the ability to detect disease, is approximately 51.7%, while its specificity,the ability to correctly identify healthy individuals, is about 92.9%. Both figures are considered high and favorable, making Oncoseek a reliable tool for identifying individuals who may have cancer, particularly when the test is performed annually in people with risk factors.
“When cancer is detected early, it leads to better health outcomes, improved quality of life, fewer treatments, and a higher chance of survival. Oncoseek is intended primarily for people who do not yet have symptoms, a strategy known as early detection. This can be a powerful tool for physicians, enabling earlier decision-making and more accurate referrals for the benefit of patients,” Verhey concluded.
