A MOBILE clinic in Crewe which is taking part in a revolutionary new cancer trial has been nearly booked out.

Participants in what is the world's largest trial of a new blood test, Galleri, to detect more than 50 types of cancer often before symptoms appear, started to arrive for their appointments at Victoria Centre car park in West Street today (Wednesday).

The clinic, which runs until Friday, May 27 before moving on to east Cheshire, has attracted strong interest locally with most appointments already booked, although there are some currently still available.

The selected residents from mid and south Cheshire, who are all aged from 50 to 77, have been responding to letters sent from the NHS within the last few weeks that invite them to participate in the NHS-Galleri trial. 

The participants, who have not had a cancer diagnosis or treatment in the last three years, will have a blood sample taken at their first appointment and will be invited back after 12 months, and again at two years, to give further blood samples.

Dr Chris Warburton, Medical Director of Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance, said: "The response to the NHS-Galleri trial in mid-Cheshire has been incredibly impressive.

"These people are contributing to a study that could prevent cancer deaths not just here but across the UK and around the world."

Chris Warburton, the medical director of Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance.

The potentially lifesaving Galleri test checks for the earliest signs of cancer in the blood. It will assess how well the test works in the NHS and whether the technology can be used as a tool to screen people with no cancer symptoms.

The trial aims to recruit 140,000 participants nationally, with 100,000 already signed up, and the trial team will include people from different backgrounds and ethnicities to ensure results are relevant for as many different people as possible.

The trial has randomised controls, which means half the participants will have their blood sample screened with the Galleri test right away and the other half will have their sample stored and may be tested in the future.

This will allow scientists to compare the stage at which cancer is detected between the two groups. All participants will be advised to continue with their standard NHS screening appointments and to still contact their GP practice if they notice any new or unusual symptoms.

The test is a simple blood test that research has shown is particularly effective at finding cancers that are difficult to identify early – such as head and neck, bowel, lung, pancreatic and throat cancers.

It works by finding chemical changes in fragments of genetic code – cell-free DNA – that leak from tumours into the bloodstream.

The trial is being run by The Cancer Research UK and King's College London Cancer Prevention Trials Unit in partnership with the NHS and healthcare company, GRAIL.

Any participants whose results indicate a possible cancer will be urgently followed up in the NHS.

Initial results of the study are expected by 2023 and, if successful, it could be rolled out to a further one million people. 

The trial is the latest NHS initiative to find three-quarters of cancers at an early stage by 2028. 

Patients whose condition is diagnosed earlier typically have between five and 10 times the chance of surviving at least five years compared with those found at a later stage. 

For more information on the study, see https://www.nhs-galleri.org/