The NHS-Galleri trial of a multi-cancer blood test did not reduce the number of cancers found at a late stage, its main goal. Fewer of the most advanced, stage IV, cancers were seen among people offered the test.
Correction — 13 October 2026: An earlier version of this report was headlined “NHS Trial Finds Blood Test Can Detect Cancers Earlier” and said the study suggested the test can shift diagnoses away from late-stage disease. That overstated the findings. The trial did not meet its primary endpoint: after three rounds of screening there was no significant difference in stage III and IV cancers combined. The lower number of stage IV cancers was a secondary outcome. The results were published on 23 September 2026. The headline and opening have been corrected. The error is recorded on our Corrections page.
The NHS-Galleri trial tested whether adding the Galleri blood test, which looks for signals from several types of cancer in a single sample, to usual NHS care would reduce the number of cancers diagnosed at a late stage. Its results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and Nature Medicine on 23 September 2026.
The trial did not meet its primary endpoint. After three annual rounds of screening, there was no significant difference between the two groups in stage III and IV cancers combined across 12 prespecified cancer types. When stage IV cancers were looked at separately, a prespecified secondary outcome, fewer were found among people offered the test, and more cancers were diagnosed at stages I and II, according to Queen Mary University of London, which helped run the trial. The researchers say longer follow-up is needed to show whether these differences lead to better outcomes for patients.
The NEJM also published an accompanying editorial, titled A Step in the Search for the Elusive Holy Grail of Early Detection of Cancer, reflecting the medical community’s cautious interest in what the findings might mean for population-level screening programmes. Early detection has long been one of oncology’s central goals, and a test capable of flagging multiple cancer types from a single blood draw would represent a meaningful shift in how screening could work.
The trial recruited 142,250 people in England aged 50 to 77. It was run by the Cancer Research UK Cancer Prevention Trials Unit at Queen Mary University of London with King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with NHS England. Queen Mary describes it as the world’s first randomised controlled trial of a multi-cancer early detection blood test.
But the research community is careful to note that publication in a peer-reviewed journal is not the same as a recommendation for routine use. Regulators and health bodies assess trial data before any test moves into standard NHS care, a process that can take considerable time after results are first published.
No date for any wider NHS rollout has been announced.
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If you have concerns about cancer symptoms or want to discuss your screening options, contact your GP or call NHS 111. In an emergency, dial 999.
Source: @NEJM