'Multi-cancer' blood tests coming to some GP surgeries soon

New blood tests designed to check for multiple cancers in one go will be offered to NHS patients in some 200 GP surgeries in England as part of a trial. The aim is to detect hard-to-diagnose abdominal cancers, including liver, ovarian and pancreatic cancer, much sooner. These cancers are often found only after they have spread.

The tests look for proteins or fragments of DNA in the blood that may signal cancer. Results could help doctors decide which patients with vague symptoms need further investigations. More than 20,000 patients aged 45 and over with symptoms such as pain or persistent bloating will be eligible to take part.

The government-funded trial, led by the University of Birmingham, will assess whether the tests are accurate enough for wider NHS use. A separate NHS trial of a test called Galleri recently failed to meet its main goal of reducing diagnoses of late-stage cancers, although researchers are still assessing its potential benefits.