The UK government has announced funding for a blood test, dubbed miONCO-Dx, that can detect the 12 most common forms of cancer before the onset of symptoms.
The miONCO-Dx is a novel multi-cancer early diagnostic test, a type of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, designed to identify 50 cancers before producing a false positive.
It can detect lung, breast, prostate, pancreatic, colorectal, ovarian, liver, brain, oesophageal, bladder, bone, and soft tissue sarcoma, and gastric.
The UK government will provide £2.5m funding through its National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to improve the speed of the test.
Through the new investment, the government aims to improve the efficiency and evaluate the performance of the new cancer blood test for use as a screening tool.
UK’s Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “As a cancer survivor, I know how vital an early cancer diagnosis and the latest treatments are.
“This investment will not only save lives, but also secure Britain’s status as a powerhouse for life sciences and medical technology.”
“When we combine the care of the NHS and the genius of our country’s leading scientific minds, we can develop life-changing treatments for patients and help get Britain’s economy booming.”
The miONCO-Dx test was developed by scientists at Southampton University, using clinical information from 20,000 cancer patients.
Also, scientists have established a startup company, Xgenera, to commercially launch the cancer diagnostic test.
Southampton University professor Paul Skipp said: “A test like this could save many lives, catching cancers much earlier. We hope to have an NHS test in five to seven years.”
The current funding is part of the UK government’s broader initiative to support new medical technology and treatments through new public-private partnerships.
It aims to bring new medical tech products into the global market, including more flexible medical scanners and artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
As part of the initiative, the UK Research and Innovation has announced a £118m fund to build five new hubs across the country, to help develop new health technologies.
The Hubs will work in partnership with the private sector, with experts at UCL developing scanners to improve cancer surgery.
The announcements come ahead of the International Investment Summit, to drive the UK economy through long-term investment in the life sciences sector.
