NHS to trial blood test that can detect 50 types of cancer early

A blood test designed to detect more than 50 types of cancer, including kidney cancer, at an early stage will be trialled by the NHS.
The Galleri test, which will be trialled across the UK, claims to detect cancers that are not routinely screened for and can pinpoint where in the body the disease is coming from with a high degree of accuracy.
Catching cancer early is vital to people receiving prompt treatment and the test has the potential to save thousands of lives in the UK every year.
It works by looking for chemical changes in fragments of genetic code that leak from tumours into the bloodstream.
Some cancer tumours are known to shed DNA into the blood a long time before a person would start experiencing symptoms.
The Galleri test does not detect all cancers and does not replace NHS screening programmes, such as those for breast, cervical and bowel cancer.
In the US, it has been recommended for people at higher risk of cancer, including the over-50s.
As part of the NHS trial, which is the world’s largest, blood samples will be taken from Monday at several mobile testing clinics in retail parks and other community locations.
The NHS aims to recruit 140,000 volunteers in eight areas of England to see how well the test works in the health service.
Letters are being sent to people from different backgrounds and ethnicities aged between 50 and 77 asking them to take part.
Participants, who must not have had a cancer diagnosis in the last three years, will be asked to give a blood sample at a local mobile clinic and they will then be invited back after 12 months, and again at two years, to give further samples.
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