Potentially, using the new method, it will be possible to identify 50 types of malignant tumors.
The National Health Service of England announced Monday that it will begin a full-scale trial of a new method for the early detection of more than 50 cancers. It is expected that a blood test will be able to establish the presence of the disease before the person has the first symptoms.
The study, which will last two years, will involve 140,000 volunteers aged 50 to 77 years.
They will have blood tests taken, then they will be invited to take repeated tests in a year and in two years. The test will only be applied to half of the initially collected blood samples – the other half will constitute a control group to test the effectiveness of the test.
“The test has the potential to revolutionize cancer diagnostics,” said Professor Peter Sasieni, Program Manager, Professor of Oncology at King's College London. “We are getting started with enthusiasm.”
If the cancer can be detected at an early stage, this dramatically increases the chances of the tumor being cured.
Currently, cancer is diagnosed by donating a piece of tissue for biochemical examination (biopsy), which no one does without symptoms. Firstly, in some cases it is a difficult procedure, especially in relation to lung, bladder and prostate cancer, and secondly, it is not known where to look.
The new method is based on detecting early changes in the DNA structure of blood cells. It was created by the Grail biotech startup, founded in 2015 in San Francisco, specifically to develop ways to early diagnose cancer. It was recently bought for $ 1.7 billion by the American pharmaceutical company Illumina Inc.
The test itself is known as Galleri. In the United States, it is offered for patients at increased risk of cancer, in particular those over the age of 50. It hasn't been certified by the FDA yet, so most insurance companies don't cover it.
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“The search for technologies for diagnosing cancer using blood tests is conducted all over the world, but until now it was at the research stage. Now we are starting a detailed trial with our partners, the largest in history. The new method is especially promising for diagnosing those types of cancer that do not show obvious signs and symptoms for a long time, “National Health Service Oncology Director Callie Palmer told the BBC.
Lung cancer is the most common cancer in Britain, accounting for 20% of all deaths. Malignant tumors of the lungs, bladder, prostate and breast together account for 45% of deaths.
