The Health Suite among first in UK to offer blood test that screens for more than 50 cancers

A Leicester GP clinic has become one of the first private healthcare providers in the UK to offer the Galleri test - the multi-cancer early detection blood test trailed by the NHS in the largest study of its kind in the world.

The Health Suite, a private doctor-led medical and wellness center, is now offering the service to patients following the publication of the first results from the 140,000-participant trial earlier this year.

The Galleri test requires a single blood sample and looks for a signal shared by more than 50 types of cancer, including pancreatic, ovarian, oesophageal and head and neck cancers, most of which have no routine NHS screening program.

Where a signal is found, the test can also predict where in the body it is likely to have come from, with around 93% accuracy.

Patients are looking for more proactive means to screen for cancer, above the four main ones already covered. People are increasingly taking more interest in their health and are keen to access any information that can highlight potential issues well ahead of time. What the Galleri test offers is a chance to find a signal before symptoms appear. That is a meaningful shift in what we can offer patients, and it's why we wanted to make it available to patients.”

Dr. Dominic Greenyer, GP and Director, The Health Suite

The test works by analyzing cell-free DNA in the blood. Tumors shed fragments of DNA carrying distinctive chemical markings known as methylation patterns, which act as a fingerprint.

Machine learning has been used to identify whether those patterns indicate a cancer signal.

Results from the NHS-Galleri trial, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting this year, found the test detected substantially more cancers than standard care alone and shifted more diagnoses to earlier stages, with fewer patients presenting as emergencies.

The trial did not meet its primary endpoint of a statistically significant reduction in late-stage disease.

Dr. Greenyer made it clear that the test is not a replacement for existing NHS provision.

He said: “This sits alongside cervical, breast and bowel screening - not instead of it.

“A negative Galleri result does not mean you don't have cancer, and every positive result needs proper diagnostic follow-up.

“We spend a good deal of time on that conversation before anyone gives a blood sample because informed consent matters enormously with a test like this.”

The test has a specificity of 99.6%, meaning fewer than one in 200 results is a false positive. Around six in 10 positive results are confirmed as cancer.

The Health Suite is offering the test to adults aged 50 and over, and to younger patients with an elevated personal or family risk.

It is not suitable during pregnancy, for those aged 21 or under, or for patients with an active cancer diagnosis.