NHS trial of blood test offers 'genuine hope' for people with some cancers

A blood test designed to detect multiple cancers could offer "genuine hope" for people with some types of the disease, experts say.

This comes despite an NHS trial which found the Galleri blood test had not significantly reduce later stage cancers.

The trial is looking at how well the test works alongside existing screening to pick up cancer cases earlier.

The test is designed to detect multiple cancers before symptoms appear, and the mixed results are being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (Asco) annual meeting in Chicago.

Despite not achieving its target of showing a statistically significant reduction in later-stage cancers, experts say the trial "still offers genuine hope" for deadly cancers that lack screening options, including ovarian and pancreatic.

Annual screening with the blood test has now been deemed as "feasible at scale" on the NHS after the trial, experts said.

The test works by identifying DNA in the bloodstream that has been shed by cancer cells, giving the earliest signs somebody may have the disease.

The NHS-Galleri trial includes 142,942 people in the UK aged 50 to 77 with no cancer symptoms.

All had blood taken once a year for three years, and half had their sample tested using Galleri.

In February, the test's developer, Grail, said the trial had not met its primary endpoint, which was to show a statistically significant combined reduction in later-stage three and four cancers.

However, the findings being presented at Asco show that the test, when used alongside NHS screening programmes, reduced diagnoses of the most advanced cancers by more than a fifth in the second and third years of screening.

The analysis focused on 12 pre-specified cancer types, which are responsible for two-thirds of cancer deaths in England, many of which do not have screening programmes and are usually found late, according to Grail.

The test's developer said it also improved how cancers were detected, with four times more people diagnosed because of screening and 25% fewer patients diagnosed in emergency settings.

Julie R Gralow, Asco chief medical officer, said that longer-term follow-up and the results of the Reach study, which will trial Galleri on about 50,000 US patients, would "provide the critical additional information" to weigh-up the benefits and risks of early detection blood tests.

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While the results have been welcomed by some, others have advised caution.

Professor Richard Houlston, head of the division of genetics and epidemiology at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: "While some secondary findings are encouraging... these results remain uncertain and should be interpreted cautiously."

Any deployment of the test could also lead to an increase in the number of people being referred for suspected cancer, warned Dr Ian Walker, executive director of policy at Cancer Research UK.

"It is therefore vital that the Government fully implements the National Cancer Plan for England alongside substantial investment in staff and kit, to tackle the persistent shortages that already exist within cancer services," he added.

(c) Sky News 2026: NHS trial of blood test offers 'genuine hope' for people with some cancers