The first papers from the NHS-Galleri trial, a major study investigating whether a blood test could help detect cancer earlier, have been published in two leading international journals.
The trial involved around 142,000 volunteers aged 50–77 across eight regions of England and is assessing whether the Galleri® multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test, used alongside existing cancer screening, can help identify cancer at an earlier stage.
Professor Richard Neal, SPCR Board member and Professor at the University of Exeter Medical School, is Co-Chief Investigator and trial co-lead, and is an author on both papers.
Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the first paper examined whether the test affected the stage at which cancers were diagnosed. While more stage 1 and 2 cancers were diagnosed in the test group, and fewer people were diagnosed with stage 4 cancer when considered separately, there was no difference in overall late-stage cancer diagnoses when stage 3 and stage 4 cancers were considered together. The trial therefore did not meet its main outcome.
The second paper, published in Nature Medicine, examined the performance of the blood test. Around one-third of people with cancer received a positive test result, while fewer than 0.5% of people without cancer received a false-positive result. Around half of those with a positive result were subsequently diagnosed with cancer.
Further results from the trial will become available as researchers continue to collect and analyse the data.
Read the full article from the University of Exeter for more information and links to the published papers.
