The first full results have been announced from the NHS-Galleri trial, a research study looking into the use of a blood test to see if it can help the NHS to detect cancer early.
The aim of the trial is to see if using the Galleri multi-cancer early detection test alongside existing cancer screening can help to find cancer early.
More than 142,000 volunteers aged 50–77 from eight regions of England, including around 20,000 from Greater Manchester, took part in the trial.
Reducing late-stage cancer
Substantially fewer of the most advanced cancers were diagnosed in people screened early with a multi-cancer early detection blood test, the first results from the NHS-Galleri trial have shown.
There was no difference overall in the number of people diagnosed with late-stage cancer overall (stage 3 and stage 4 cancers together), the main goal of the trial, between people who had the test and those who did not. However, fewer late-stage cancers were seen the second and third time people had the test.
Professor Charles Swanton, Co-Chief Investigator for the NHS-Galleri trial, said: “As a lung cancer doctor, I see the clinical importance of diagnosing cancer at an earlier stage, when treatment is more likely to be curative. The NHS-Galleri trial tested whether adding the Galleri blood test to NHS screening could reduce the combined number of cancers diagnosed at stage 3 or 4 over three years. The primary endpoint was not met.”
He added: “However, a pre-specified secondary endpoint did show a greater than 20% reduction in stage 4 cancers, with the effect strengthening by the third year of screening. The stage 4 reduction is clinically meaningful because for many cancers there is a real gulf in outlook between a stage 4 diagnosis and one caught earlier. The hope is that for more patients the conversation can be about treating cancer with curative intent rather than managing it palliatively.”
About the NHS-Galleri trial
The NHS-Galleri trial is a research study to see how well the Galleri® blood test works at a large scale in the NHS. The blood test can detect a ‘signal’ shared by many different types of cancer in a sample of a person’s blood.
The aim of the trial is to see if using the Galleri® test alongside existing cancer screening can help to find cancer early. Finding cancer early usually means more treatment options and better outcomes.
More than 142,000 volunteers aged 50–77 from across England took part in the trial. They provided three blood samples over two years at mobile clinics stationed in more than 150 locations across England.
Alison Armstrong, Associate Director at Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, said: “We’re proud to have been a part of making the NHS-Galleri trial happen in Greater Manchester.
“From finding locations for trial clinics that were as easy as possible for volunteers in our area to get to, to working with local clinicians to support participants who had a cancer signal detected blood test result, we did everything we could to ensure people in the trial had a good experience.”
What else the results showed:
- The NHS-Galleri trial showed that fewer cancers were detected in an emergency situation, such as in A&E, among people who had the test.
- Using the test also meant that more cancers were found by screening than by other ways.
- The trial showed that the blood test was accurate at screening for cancer and was safe.
Professor Richard Neal, Co-Chief Investigator for the NHS-Galleri trial, said: “I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the people who took part in this landmark trial. The first results from the trial have helped us understand more about how the test may help find cancers earlier. They have also helped us learn more about how cancers develop and about this type of blood test. These results are just the start of what we will learn from this trial, which is the first and biggest of its kind. The trial and everything that we are discovering from the data would not have been possible without your support.”
What happens next?
The researchers will continue to analyse the data from the trial over the coming months and years. More results will be reported in the future.
The NHS and other health organisations will review the results of the trial in detail to understand how this type of test could be used in the future.
