The National Health Service of England has announced the start of testing for a blood test that can identify over 50 types of cancer before the onset of symptoms. The “Galleri” test, which is already in operation in the United States, is based on probing the blood flow in search of fragments of human DNA that could offer cancer cells an environment suitable for proliferation. The objective of the practice under experimentation is to develop an extremely sophisticated technique, capable of stopping in the bud in various areas of the human body; lungs, pancreas, throat, neck and many others.
The British government agency is now looking for at least 100,000 volunteers who will serve to guarantee the amount of blood necessary to effectively launch the ambitious campaign, for which numerous mobile units have already been disseminated throughout the country.
The head of the NHS, Amanda Pritchard, said that “the test may represent the beginning of a real revolution in the field of cancer diagnosis and treatment.” The ultimate ambition of the plan is to intercept up to three-quarters of cancer patients in the very early stages of the disease, when treatments are more likely to lead to success.
Currently, the NHS is trying to contact citizens aged 50 to 77 from different ethnic backgrounds to be the starting champion. Participants must not have been diagnosed with cancor in the past three years. After a first blood test at one of the aforementioned mobile units, the volunteers will be called for the next steps. The blood of a portion of it will eventually be stored for future experimental needs.