NHS-Galleri-GRAIL clinical trial

The Kent and Medway Cancer Alliance was one of eight cancer alliances to participate in the Galleri-GRAIL clinical trial. The largest of its kind.

23,500 volunteers, aged between 50 and 77, took part in the trial in Kent and Medway.

The trial aimed to prove whether the Galleri-GRAIL test was effective in diagnosing up to 50 types of cancer by looking for DNA markers in the blood.

The trial commenced in Kent and Medway in October 2021, and completed in June 2024.

Participants were invited for an annual blood test within the GRAIL mobile unit, which visited towns across Kent and Medway on a programmed basis throughout the three years of the trial.

Each participant had three blood tests in total, at approximately the same time each year between 2022 and 2024.

For any future updates about the trial, please visit the NHS-Galleri website.

Registration for new participants has now closed.

Results

The NHS-Galleri trial should that there was no difference in the number of people diagnosed with late-stage cancer overall (stage 3 and stage 4 cancers together) between people who had the blood test (test group) and those who did not (control group). This means that the trial did not meet its main goal.

At least 20 per cent fewer of the most advanced cancers (stage 4) were diagnosed in the second and third round of screening, in the test group compared with the control group.

The trial also showed that fewer cancers were detected in an emergency situation, such as in A&E, among people who had the test.

Using the test also meant that more cancers were found by screening than by other ways.

The trial showed that the blood test was accurate at screening for cancer and was safe.

Find out more.

Would you like to take part in research?

If you are interested in taking part in other research that is recruiting at the moment visit Be Part of Research.

Worried about symptoms? 

If you are worried that you have symptoms of cancer, you should contact your doctor as soon as possible.

This should be the case even if you are taking part in research.