The study targets people aged 45 or over consulting for symptoms such as persistent pain or bloating. The tests look for cancer-related signals, including blood markers assessed using different technologies, among them artificial intelligence.
The University of Birmingham says the trial will receive up to £8.49 million in public funding. Blood sampling is intended to complement routine investigations and the doctor’s judgement when deciding on further tests.
A positive result does not by itself constitute a cancer diagnosis. The purpose is to establish whether these tools are useful enough to consider wider NHS deployment; no clinical benefit from this trial has yet been established.