New multi-cancer blood tests are coming to approximately 200 GP surgeries across England as part of a government-funded trial involving over 20,000 patients aged 45 and over. The STRIDE-RCT trial targets hard-to-diagnose abdominal cancers—including pancreatic, stomach, liver, ovarian, and bowel cancer—at earlier stages when treatment is more likely to succeed.
The research evaluates whether blood tests assessing proteins and DNA fragments shed by tumors are accurate enough for wider use across the National Health Service.
Eligible participants presenting with symptoms such as abdominal pain or persistent bloating provide one or two tubes of blood at their GP practice alongside routine tests. Scientists then analyse the samples for signs of cancer and, if present, may be able to pinpoint where in the body the tumor is located.
Trial covers thirteen abdominal cancer types
Abdominal cancers are often identified only after they have spread because their initial signs closely mimic less serious conditions. The STRIDE-RCT trial covers 13 distinct cancer types, including bowel, small bowel, stomach, oesophageal, pancreatic, liver, bile duct and gallbladder, ovarian, endometrial, kidney, bladder, and prostate cancer.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England’s national clinical director for cancer, noted the hurdles involved in early detection. Detecting abdomen cancer early was “notoriously difficult” because symptoms can easily be mistaken for other less serious conditions,
he said, according to the Mirror.
Context from Previous NHS Screening Research
The new rollout follows earlier multi-cancer screening evaluations.
One such study was the NHS-Galleri trial. It evaluated individuals aged 50–77 years in England by collecting peripheral blood at up to three annual visits.
Following baseline blood collection, 142,250 participants were randomized 1:1 to intervention or control arms. Out of those randomized, 64,888 intervention participants and 65,066 control participants returned for their second annual blood draw.
A total of 62,867 intervention participants and 63,101 control participants returned for their third annual blood draw.
The Galleri trial did not meet its primary endpoint of reducing combined stage 3 and 4 diagnoses. Researchers observed fewer stage 4 diagnoses in later screening rounds.
Health secretary Yvette Cooper said she hoped simple blood tests such as these would help identify patients needing urgent investigation much sooner.
Michelle Mitchell from Cancer Research UK noted the clinical demand for improved diagnostic instruments in primary care.
GPs have long needed better tools to help them navigate that uncertainty by identifying which patients require further testing and this trial in England is an important step towards addressing that need.
Cancer Research UK
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