A blood test that can detect cancer before symptoms develop is being assessed for potential NHS use, health officials have said.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting will announce that the Government is backing the next phase of testing for a groundbreaking blood test which can detect 12 cancers, including bowel cancer.
Speaking at an event to mark the renaming of a cancer lab in memory of the late Dame Deborah James, Mr Streeting said the work will help to bring England’s cancer survival rates “back up to some of the best in the world”.
“Dame Deborah James dedicated her life to raising awareness for cancer and finding ways that we can beat it, so it is only right that we honour her legacy by investing in research to help stop one of the country’s biggest killers,” Mr Streeting said.
Dame Deborah died of bowel cancer aged 40 in 2022.
Officials from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that the Bowelbabe Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute in London, which is funded by Cancer Research UK, will bring together leading scientists and will conduct “cutting-edge” research.
The department also said that patients, including those with bowel cancer, could soon benefit from the test.
The miONCO-Dx blood test could lead to more cancers being detected at an earlier stage, which means treatments will be more effective, officials added.
The technology, made by biotechnology company Xgenera, was developed alongside scientists from the University of Southampton.
It works by examining the microRNA in a blood sample and uses AI to identify if cancer is present and if so, where it is located in the body.
Initial tests show the blood test can detect up to 12 common cancers – including lung, gastric, prostate, oesophageal, liver, bladder, ovarian, bowel, pancreatic and breast cancers as well as bone and soft tissue sarcoma and a type of brain tumour – and has high sensitivity, with 99% accuracy.
It was developed using data from 20,000 patients.
The technology is to be trialled in 8,000 patients thanks to a £2.4 million grant though the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Government.
The DHSC said that the development of the test has moved onto the next phase, the “verification and validation phase”, which will look at collating evidence to support the approval of the test for use in the NHS.
Mr Streeting, who had cancer himself in 2021, added: “We know that the key to surviving cancer is catching it as early as possible, so this government is taking the urgent action needed to make sure that happens through our plan for change, from developing world-leading technology to detect bowel cancer earlier, through to setting up hubs for the UK’s top scientists to research and treat the disease.
“And research is only one part of the work we’re doing. Our national cancer plan will transform cancer so patients can get the latest treatments and technology, ultimately bringing this country’s cancer survival rates back up to some of the best in the world.”
Professor Lucy Chappell, chief scientific adviser at the DHSC and chief executive of the NIHR, added: “Innovations such as the miONCO-Dx blood test offer an exciting new era in cancer detection with the potential for quicker, easier and more effective ways to detect cancers before they become more difficult to treat.”
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said: “This blood test has the potential to help us detect bowel cancer earlier and reduce the need for invasive tests, and the next step in this trial will now be vital in gathering further evidence on its effectiveness and how it could work in practice.
“Dame Deborah James was a tireless and inspirational campaigner who helped change the national conversation on bowel cancer – it’s fitting that this lab in her name will drive forward research that could help thousands more people survive the disease.”
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, added: “Bowel cancer is the second biggest cause of cancer deaths in the UK. I’m delighted to welcome the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, to the Bowelbabe Laboratory and show him the cutting-edge research being carried out in the name of the inspirational Dame Deborah James. She touched the lives of so many, and her legacy is supporting people affected by bowel cancer across the country.
