HealthTrending
The STRIDE-RCT trial will involve 20,000 patients across 200 GP surgeries in England to assess if blood tests can help identify cancers earlier.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
A government-funded clinical trial in England will assess whether simple blood tests can help general practitioners (GPs) identify patients who need urgent treatment much sooner. The STRIDE-RCT trial, led by the University of Birmingham, will involve more than 20,000 patients aged 45 and over who present with abdominal symptoms such as pain, persistent bloating, or discomfort.
The trial will take place in at least 200 GP practices across England, serving inner-city, rural, coastal, and deprived communities. Participants will provide one or two tubes of blood alongside routine tests. Scientists will analyze these samples for proteins or fragments of DNA that may signal cancer and potentially pinpoint the tumor's location.
According to reports, the tests utilize technologies including artificial intelligence. The trial will evaluate three different blood tests:
The STRIDE-RCT trial aims to detect 13 types of cancer: bowel, small bowel, stomach, oesophageal, pancreatic, liver, bile duct, gallbladder, ovarian, endometrial, kidney, bladder, and prostate cancer.
Detecting abdominal cancers is often difficult because symptoms can be mistaken for less serious conditions. Prof Peter Johnson, NHS England's national clinical director for cancer, said detecting abdomen cancer early was "notoriously difficult" because symptoms can easily be mistaken for other less serious conditions.
In England, approximately 71,000 people are diagnosed each year with pancreatic, stomach, liver, ovarian, or bowel cancer, resulting in nearly 35,000 deaths. Data indicates that while nine in ten people diagnosed with stage 1 bowel cancer survive for at least five years, only about one in ten survive if diagnosed at stage 4.
This trial follows a separate NHS trial of a test called Galleri. According to reports, the Galleri trial failed to meet its main goal of reducing diagnoses of late-stage cancers, though researchers are still assessing its potential benefits.
Health secretary Yvette Cooper said, "The earlier cancers are diagnosed, the more chance they can be successfully treated and lives can be saved." She stated the trial will establish if these tests can help GPs identify patients needing urgent support much sooner.
Michelle Mitchell from Cancer Research UK said, "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."
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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