Test Galleri, the blood test that can detect over 50 types of cancer

Could represent the carried out in the early diagnosis of over 50 types of neoplasmsincluding the so-called «big killers», i.e. those cancers that kill the most such as lung, breast, colorectal and prostate cancer.
The Galleries test is a blood test through which, thanks to the use of a system of Artificial intelligenceyou can locate with an accuracy of 75% the presence of a tumorthat is, in 3 out of 4 cases. A study to support these results was presented during the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), currently underway in Chicago, USA.

The study, started in 2021 and named Simplify, involved 5,500 people living in the UK who had gone to the doctor for some suspicious symptoms. To lead it, a research team of Oxford University Department of Oncologyin collaboration with colleagues from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciencesfrom the Primary Care Clinical Trials Unit and the UK Office for Clinical Trials of Oncology.

All study participants underwent the Galleri test, also known as MCED (multi-cancer early detection), which is based precisely on a blood collection within which – thanks to new generation sequencing systems and machine learning algorithms – cancer biomarkers are searched for, i.e. fragments of DNA from cancer cells that are released into the bloodstream before symptoms appear.

What the Simplify study found

Of the 5,500 study participants, the Galleri test detected the presence of cancer in 323 people, 244 of whom subsequently received a cancer diagnosis through traditional methodssuch as X-rays, solid biopsies and the like, showing therefore 75% accuracy.

THE false positivesi.e. patients erroneously received a cancer signal, only the 2.5% of the total. And not only: in 85% of cases the test was also able to identify the site of origin of the neoplasm. “The test turned out 85% accurate in detecting the source of the cancerand this can be really useful because in many cases it is not clear when you have a patient in front of you, which test is necessary to verify from which point of the body the possible symptoms of a tumor derive from ». Professor Mark Middleton told BBC Newsamong the study leaders. Although the results of this study are not yet precise enough to “preclude or exclude cancer”, according to Middleton it is nevertheless possible to direct the patient towards the correct tests for a definitive and as early diagnosis as possible.

The Galleries test it has yet to be perfected, it is currently being used on an experimental basis and it will take some time before it can be introduced into actual clinical practice. However, since it is a very promising test, the British National Health Service is already evaluating the possible involvement of over 140,000 residents of the United Kingdom in the study of the test.