New blood test to detect more than 50 types of cancer shows promise

Cancer detection: A new blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer has shown promise at a trial. It can accelerate diagnosis and help in quick treatment, says researchers at the University of Oxford.

The trial conducted by the UK National Health Service showed that the blood test revealed two out of every three cancers among 5000 people with suspected symptoms.

Called Galleri test, it also correctly identified the original site of cancer in 85 per cent of those cases in what has been described as the first large-scale evaluation of a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test in individuals who presented to their GP for diagnostic follow-up for suspected cancer.

Detects hard to spot cancers

The test is particularly good for finding cancers like the neck, bowel, lung, pancreas and throat, that are difficult to detect.

The SIMPLIFY study enrolled 6,238 patients, aged 18 and older, who were referred for urgent imaging, endoscopy or other diagnostic modalities to investigate symptoms.

“New tools that can both expedite cancer diagnosis and potentially avoid invasive and costly investigations are needed to more accurately triage patients who present with non-specific cancer symptoms,” said Brian D Nicholson, Associate Professor at Oxford University’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and co-lead investigator of the study.

“The high overall specificity, positive predictive value, and accuracy of the cancer signal detected and cancer signal origin prediction that was reported across cancer types in the SYMPLIFY study indicate that a positive MCED test could be used to confirm that symptomatic patients should be evaluated for cancer before pursuing other diagnoses,” he said.

Early detection of cancer vital

 “This study is the first step in testing a new way to identify cancer as quickly as possible, being pioneered by the NHS – earlier detection of cancer is vital and this test could help us to catch more cancers at an earlier stage and help save thousands of lives,” said NHS national director for cancer Professor Peter Johnson.

The University of Oxford sponsored the SYMPLIFY study and was responsible for data collection, analysis and interpretation.

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