‘Holy Grail’ blood test could prevent one in five cancer deaths – saving 30,000 lives, breakthrough trial suggests

A pioneering blood test that can detect more than 50 cancers before symptoms appear could save tens of thousands of lives a year, according to a new study.

The Galleri test, dubbed the ‘Holy Grail’ for cancer, helped flag four times more cancers when added to existing screening programmes, results from an NHS-funded trial show.

In practice, this may prevent late stage diagnosis in one in five; it is a major cause of 170,000 cancer deaths a year in the UK.

Doctors taking part in the trial say the potential impact on survival is huge, with up to 30,000 lives saved each year.

The test, made by American pharmaceutical company Grail, looks for pieces of cancerous DNA that have broken off from a tumor and circulated in the blood.

This ‘signal’ allows doctors to pick up signs of the disease when cancer is most treatable, months or even years before symptoms appear.

The trial, launched by the NHS in 2021, involved testing more than 142,000 adults aged 50 to 77, with almost one in 100 receiving a positive result across three tests.

In 52 percent of these cases, cancer was later confirmed.

The trial also saw a 25 per cent drop in the number of cancers first detected in A&E when patients were already seriously ill; this is one of the strongest predictors of poor survival.

Doctors said this change alone could change the outcomes of thousands of patients.

Presenting the results ahead of the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Sir Harpal Kumar, Scientific Director of Global Clinical and Medical Affairs at GRAIL, described the findings as ‘hugely significant’.

He added: ‘Galleries represent a potential transformational change in cancer detection, moving us towards a more comprehensive and proactive approach where doctors can deliver treatment, not just end-of-life care; “That’s the difference,” he said.

It is also hoped that it will reduce the number of false positives produced by existing screening programmes, which include those looking for early-stage breast, bowel and cervical cancers.

An estimated three million people in the UK are sent for urgent examinations each year because they have symptoms that could be cancerous.

Only six per cent of them have been diagnosed, meaning they may have been subjected to unnecessary invasive testing and anxiety.

Sir Kumar continued: ‘If we had a much more predictive test we could use some of its diagnostic capacity to greater benefit.

Jan Kitching was diagnosed with stage two bowel cancer after her third blood test

‘As treatment options continue to advance, screening frameworks must evolve in parallel.’

The trial was criticized earlier this year for failing to meet the endpoint of reducing the number of cases caught in stages three and four, when the disease has spread elsewhere in the body.

But newly published results tell a different story.

Despite this, an insider today cast doubt on whether the test will receive NHS approval. Speaking to The Telegraph, an anonymous source at the hearing claimed they ‘didn’t see any chance’ of it being rolled out nationally.

The trial showed particularly promising results for certain types of cancer. Stage four esophageal cancer diagnoses fell more than 57 percent among those offered the test.

Stage four diagnoses for bowel cancer have fallen by more than a third.

The survival rate for bowel cancer diagnosed at stage four in the UK is surprisingly low; only 11 percent of patients reach this milestone. However, when caught at the third stage, 64 percent of patients have a chance of being free of cancer for five years.

Doctors say it makes a profound difference.

“We have seen a significant decline in stage four cancers, but this has been overshadowed by the overall increase in the number of stage three cancers detected,” Sir Kumar said.

This trend may also be due, at least in part, to the fact that the blood test can detect cancers for which screening programs currently do not exist, such as pancreatic, ovarian, liver, esophageal, and bladder cancers.

He added: ‘The trial revealed how common undiagnosed stage three cancer was in the population before any screening began.

‘The government has predicted that multiplex cancer screening will be a key part of the cancer landscape over the next few years and there is a lot of really encouraging data here and I hope it will mean we can move forward quickly.

‘We have known for a long time that our cancer outcomes in the UK are not as good as other countries, and this is due to late diagnosis.’

Dr, who is a GP at Bromley by Bow Health Center and an academic at King’s College London, is involved in referring patients who test positive to the NHS for follow-up. Thomas Round added: ‘This is potentially game-changing and we’re very excited about what’s next for this – especially for emergency diagnostics.

‘The reduction in the number of patients diagnosed with cancer following A&E activity is really important for the NHS.

‘Testing also fits very well into the NHS because we have existing pathways we can use.

‘But we need to invest more in diagnostics, from the hospital to the community and from analogue to digital, and this all fits into how we can detect cancer earlier.’

Professor Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director for Cancer at NHS England, said: ‘Finding cancer at an earlier stage is at the heart of the National Cancer Plan.

‘The NHS will explore every opportunity to detect more cancer earlier and save more lives, building on the success of initiatives such as the lung cancer screening programme, which has helped detect 10,000 cases of cancer, many at an early stage, by testing lorries in supermarket car parks and football pitches.

‘We look forward to seeing the data from the trial in detail to help us decide what this might mean for the NHS in the future.’

He found an intestinal tumor and saved my life

Jan now hopes her blood test will be broadcast on the NHS

Jan Kitching, 69, from Gateshead, an active grandmother of eight and full-time carer for her elderly father, had no reason to suspect she was just months away from a life-threatening diagnosis.

So when her GP practice invited her and her husband to take part in a trial aimed at detecting the early stages of cancer, she didn’t think twice.

‘Three blood tests that could help someone in the future receive potentially life-saving treatment, at the most effective time, were a no-brainer,’ he said.

His first two tests came back clean. But on May 2, 2024, one day before his 67th birthday, he received a call informing him that the test had detected a possible colorectal cancer signal.

‘I couldn’t believe it,’ he said. ‘I had no symptoms, my stool test was negative a few months ago and there was no family history of the disease.’

He was sent for a colonoscopy within two weeks.

“That’s when I really came to my senses,” Jan said. ‘As I waited for the results, I feared the worst. ‘I’ve even started planning my own funeral.’

Further tests confirmed stage two bowel cancer. On June 17, Jan had surgery to remove the tumor, which thankfully did not spread.

Two weeks later, surrounded by his grandchildren, he returned to care for his 94-year-old father, who is cancer-free.

And he credits the test with saving his life.

‘I’m afraid to think what would have happened if this test hadn’t happened,’ he said. ‘I had no warning signs. I led an active lifestyle, never smoked and rarely drink.

‘If it wasn’t for the blood test, the cancer could have easily progressed and I might not be here.

‘The first thing everyone asks me now is: ‘Where can I get this test?’ I hope the NHS finds a way to deliver this.’