A trial of blood tests designed to look for signs of several cancers at once will be offered to NHS patients at around 200 GP surgeries in England. The government-funded study will assess whether the tests are accurate enough for wider use by the health service.
The trial aims to improve detection of cancers that can be difficult to identify early, including pancreatic, liver and ovarian cancer. These diseases are often diagnosed after they have spread, while their symptoms can resemble those of less serious conditions.
More than 20,000 people aged 45 and over who have symptoms such as pain or persistent bloating will be eligible to take part. Patients will give one or two blood samples at their GP practice, alongside routine tests. Researchers will look for proteins or fragments of DNA that may indicate cancer and, if signs are found, may be able to identify where a tumour is located.
The STRIDE-RCT trial covers bowel, small bowel, stomach, oesophageal, pancreatic, liver, bile duct and gallbladder, ovarian, endometrial, kidney, bladder and prostate cancers. A positive result would not confirm that a patient has cancer, while a negative result would not guarantee that they are cancer-free.
The study, led by the University of Birmingham, is separate from the NHS trial of the Galleri test, which did not meet its main aim of reducing late-stage cancer diagnoses. Researchers are continuing to assess that test’s potential benefits.
NHS England national clinical director for cancer Prof Peter Johnson said early detection of abdominal cancers was particularly challenging because symptoms could be mistaken for other conditions. Health secretary Yvette Cooper said she hoped the tests would help identify patients who need urgent investigations sooner.
Cancer Research UK’s Michelle Mitchell said GPs needed better tools to decide which patients require further testing, describing the trial as an important step towards meeting that need.
Sources: BBC News UK.