A blood test designed to spot more than 50 cancers could accelerate diagnosis, early results from a North American study suggest.

The Galleri test—developed by US company Grail—analyses fragments of tumour DNA circulating in the bloodstream. 

In a year-long trial of about 25,000 adults in the United States and Canada, nearly 1% returned a positive result; subsequent investigations confirmed cancer in around 62% of those positives, while the test correctly ruled out cancer in more than 99% of people who tested negative, according to data due to be presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Berlin. 

The assay also identified the likely origin of the cancer in roughly nine out of ten confirmed cases. 

Lead researcher Dr Nima Nabavizadeh, associate professor of radiation medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, said the findings indicate multi-cancer blood testing could “fundamentally change” screening by detecting disease earlier, when treatment is more effective. 

When used alongside existing breast, bowel and cervical screening, the test substantially increased the total number of cancers detected, and most of the confirmed cases involved cancers with no routine screening programmes—such as ovarian, liver, stomach, bladder and pancreatic cancers—according to Grail’s summary of top-line results. 

The technology is also being assessed in England in the randomised NHS-Galleri trial, which has enrolled more than 140,000 volunteers aged 50 to 77. Primary analyses—focused on shifting diagnosis to earlier stages—are expected at study completion, with mortality assessed after longer follow-up. The NHS has said any wider rollout would depend on these results. 

Independent experts caution that promising detection metrics must translate into fewer cancer deaths before population screening can be adopted. Professor Clare Turnbull of The Institute of Cancer Research has previously argued that randomised data with mortality endpoints are essential to prove benefit and avoid harms such as overdiagnosis. 

Sir Harpal Kumar, Grail’s president for International Business & BioPharma, called the new results “compelling,” saying earlier detection could enable more curative treatment. 

Source: BBC

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