New cancer test could ‘speed up diagnostic process’ if approved

A blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer.

It may sound too convenient to be true. And in the past that promise turned out to be famously fraudulent.

But it is now true and has the potential to ‘save thousands of lives’ if it’s rolled out.

A large-scale NHS trial found that the Galleri test – which is already available in the US – correctly revealed cancer 66% of the time and, in 85% of those cases, was able to pinpoint where in the body it was present.

It works by detecting fragments of tumour DNA circulating in the bloodstream.

We were joined by Brian Nicholson.

He co-led the study to evaluate the Galleri test as an Oxford University researcher.