The National Health Service (NHS) in England will introduce screening tests for blood tests that can detect 50 types of cancer at an early stage. In autumn, this pilot program will be launched for people over 50 years of age with high cancer risk. GRAIL, a US-based company, has developed this test using a method-machine-learning algorithm that looks for chemical changes in fragments of genetic code found in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) that leaks from tumours into the bloodstream. During the study, 2,823 people with the disease and 1,254 people without it were studied.
A podcast by Eric Klein, Managing Director and Chairman of Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, revealed, ‘Our screening paradigms include cervical cancer, cervical swabbing and cytology, prostate cancer, PSA, colon cancer with Cologuard and colonoscopy, breast cancer with mammography, and lung cancer screening for high-risk patients with CT scanning. However, there are many other cancers that do not have good screening paradigms and tend to be present in late stages’.
According to 36-year-old Nikki Menon, a breast cancer survivor based in South London, ‘This sounds like a blessing. Especially for those who have a family history and are worried for themselves and their loved ones. As a cancer survivor, I fully understand the importance of early detection of this disease, and if the accuracy of this test is proven, we will be in good hands’.
‘Tests like these will prove valuable as a peace-of-mind tool. “If I have an offspring, I would definitely take this test,’ says Nikki Menon. Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020, according to the World Health Organization. Around half of all cancer cases in England are currently diagnosed at stage one or two, but the NHS Long Term Plan aims to increase that to three-quarters by 2028. The 50-year-old Tammy has found chemotherapy difficult. In preparation for her ovarian cancer surgery, she felt it would have been a blessing if the test had been available and the disease could have been detected earlier.
In a statement, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, Michelle Mitchell, said ‘This technology has potential, but what doctors need is to detect cancer at the very earliest stage, because we know patients have the best chance at survival. This study has not yet shown whether this test can detect early stages of cancer in people who have not already been diagnosed’.
‘A simple, reliable test for detecting cancer is sorely needed and could save lives. A crucial step to making this future reality will be a large-scale clinical trial, which is in the works, where people who have not been diagnosed with cancer will be given the test. This is the only way we can see if the test can detect cancer before the currently available diagnostic methods,’ she added.
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Sir Simon Stevens, the Chief Executive of NHS England, said, ‘Cancer survival is now at a record high, but a thousand people are diagnosed with cancer every single day. The early detection of hard-to-treat conditions like ovarian and pancreatic cancer can save many lives. This promising blood test could revolutionize cancer treatment, helping thousands of people get successful treatment’. The NHS pilot test will be rolled out to about 140,000 people by 2023.
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