Blood test for over 50 cancers gets NHS trial

The Galleri test, developed by California-based biotech company Grail, screens for cell-free nucleic acids (cfNAs), small fragments of DNA and RNA that are thought to be cast off by tumours in the body. These cfNAs reflect the genomic profile of the tumours where they originated, allowing not only the potential presence of cancer to be detected, but also its location within the body. Galleri uses artificial intelligence to help distinguish cancerous cfNA’s from the masses of other genomic material floating in the bloodstream.

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Grail claims a US clinical study using an earlier iteration of Galleri successfully detected over 50 types of cancer with a low false-positive rate of less than one per cent through a single blood draw. The company’s own modelling indicates the test has the potential to decrease the number of cancers diagnosed at late stage by nearly half, which could reduce the total number of cancer deaths in the UK by approximately one-fifth.