NHS launches new AI blood test trial to help spot cancers earlier
The NHS has launched a new trial across at least 200 GP practices in England aimed at providing earlier diagnosis for a range of the most common cancers.
More than 20,000 NHS patients will take part in the trial to assess whether simple blood tests can spot prostate, ovarian, bowel, pancreatic, stomach, liver, and other abdominal cancers.
Participating patients aged 45 and over who visit their GP with abdominal symptoms – such as persistent bloating or discomfort – will be offered the chance to take part in the trial.
The tests aim to detect early markers of cancer, before more severe symptoms develop, providing the potential to catch and treat major cancers before they can progress.
Around 71,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic, stomach, liver, ovarian or bowel cancer in England each year, and there are almost 35,000 deaths from these cancers.
Abdominal cancers are often found too late. Around nine in ten people diagnosed with bowel cancer at stage 1 survive at least five years, compared with around one in ten at stage 4.
It is hoped that the new trial will give the chance for clinicians to catch these conditions earlier, when treatment is more effective, potentially saving lives.
“The earlier cancers are diagnosed, the more chance they can be successfully treated, and lives can be saved. This world-first trial will establish whether simple blood tests can help GPs identify much sooner the patients who need urgent support,” said Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Yvette Cooper.
“Innovations like these are a key part of our National Cancer Plan, which will provide faster diagnosis, more effective treatment, and better care for every patient, while also investing in the trials and technology that offer hope of curing cancer for good.”
The blood tests patients will receive through the trial, called STRIDE-RCT, will look for signs of several cancers in a single sample and suggest where in the body they come from.
Most of the tests in the trial, developed by the University of Birmingham, will ask patients to have one or two tubes of blood taken at their GP practice, alongside routine blood tests.
The tests use a variety of the latest technology – including AI and measuring proteins in the blood. A positive result will help the GP and patient decide whether an urgent referral is needed but it is not by itself a confirmed cancer diagnosis.
The cancers covered by the trial will include bowel, small bowel, stomach, oesophageal, pancreatic, liver, bile duct and gallbladder, ovarian, endometrial, kidney, bladder and prostate cancer.
The trial will assess how well the tests work alongside GPs’ judgement before an assessment is made on rolling them out nationwide. Currently, just 2-6% of urgent referrals for cancer result in a diagnosis.
