UC San Diego Health First to Launch Groundbreaking Blood Test for Testicular Cancer as Wider Adoption Nears
UC San Diego Health has become the first health system in the United States to clinically offer a newly developed blood test for testicular cancer, marking a major advancement in diagnosis, treatment planning, and long-term surveillance. Developed after more than a decade of research, the test fills a critical gap in care by providing a highly sensitive and specific biomarker that can help physicians avoid both under- and over-treatment.
From left to right: Krinio Giannikou, PhD, Aditya Bagrodia, MD, and Jane Smitham, research associate. Photo credit: Leslie Aquinde, UC San Diego Health
“Being able to engage in translational research that radically impacts the way we care for patients with testicular cancer is incredibly rewarding,” said Aditya Bagrodia, MD, professor of urology at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and urologic oncologist at UC San Diego Health. “Developing this test in partnership with my colleagues represents years of dedicated work to bring a new form of personalized medicine to testicular cancer care.”
Dr. Bagrodia also serves as a board member of the Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation, and was the Lead Chair for the 2024 Testicular Cancer Conference San Diego, held at UC San Diego Health.
The blood test measures the biomarker microRNA-371a-3p, which predicts the presence of active testicular cancer cells with approximately 90 percent accuracy. It can be used at multiple points across a patient’s care journey, including before surgery to support clinical decision-making, during treatment planning to help determine whether chemotherapy or additional surgery is necessary, and during follow-up care to detect recurrence earlier.
While UC San Diego Health is the first U.S. health system to bring this test into clinical practice, it is far from alone in advancing this science. Major cancer centers, including those affiliated with MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, are heavily involved in microRNA-371a-3p research. Several institutions are developing their own related assays, and broader multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests incorporating this biomarker are also emerging. Together, these efforts signal that wider clinical adoption of microRNA-based testing for testicular cancer is approaching.
The test is currently available to UC San Diego Health patients diagnosed with testicular cancer and is expected to expand later this year to accept samples from medical centers worldwide. It is both CAP- and CLIA-certified, meeting the highest standards for accuracy and reliability. Test results are reviewed by UC San Diego Health’s multidisciplinary molecular tumor board to ensure personalized, evidence-based care.
Testicular cancer impacted approximately 9,720 people in 2025 in the United States and is the most common form of cancer in men ages 15-44. Advances like this blood test represent an important step toward more precise, individualized care and improved quality of life for patients and survivors, while setting the stage for broader adoption across leading cancer centers nationwide.