NHS trials first multi-cancer blood test to investigate common symptoms often dismissed

NHS trials first multi-cancer blood test to investigate common symptoms often dismissed A new STRIDE-RCT trial will recruit 20,000 patients from 200 GP surgeries to check for prostate, ovarian, bowel, pancreatic, stomach, liver and other abdominal cancers The NHS is launching a trial for a new blood test capable of detecting multiple different cancers. The government is backing the trial which will recruit 20,000 participants for the test to help identify prostate, ovarian, bowel, pancreatic, stomach, liver, and other abdominal cancers. These cancers are notoriously hard to diagnose because they come with common symptoms such as bloating, stomach cramps, heartburn, diarrhea and constipation. Patients aged over 45 with these symptoms will be recruited at 200 GP surgeries and offered the test which looks for DNA shed by tumours as well as tell tale proteins in the blood. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "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.” Abdominal cancers are often found too late. Around 70,000 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. Only 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. The new blood tests aim to detect early markers of cancer before severe symptoms develop to catch and treat them before they progress. Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England’s director for cancer, said: “Detecting abdomen cancer early is notoriously difficult because the symptoms can easily be mistaken for other less serious conditions but the NHS is determined to find a solution. “We are at the start of revolution in cancer diagnosis and this trial will help us to find out whether blood tests can help GPs get the right patients to the right tests sooner, supporting earlier diagnosis when treatment is most likely to be successful. I am grateful to everyone taking part in this research.” The trial, called STRIDE-RCT, will evaluate tests from three companies that 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 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 tests will use artificial intelligence to analyse samples and the trial will assess how well they work alongside GPs' judgement before an assessment is made on rolling them out nationwide. GPs will also record how strongly they suspect cancer to help researchers assess how well the tests work alongside clinical judgement. Jonathan Reynolds, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, said: “Cancer affects all of us at some point in our lives, and millions of people up and down the country will know how it feels to face that awful uncertainty while they wait for a diagnosis. "Finding cases early is key, giving patients a clear path to treatment and helping save lives. The UK is a world leader in medical science research, and this trial shows how important that leadership is in bringing forward breakthroughs that can make a real difference to people.”