Thousands of women could avoid invasive diagnostic procedures for suspected cases of womb cancer thanks to an NHS trial of an AI blood test designed to identify patients at low risk of the disease.
The PinPoint blood test, developed by a Leeds-based company Precise data scienceis being introduced by several NHS organizations following a large-scale evaluation involving 16,481 patients referred by GPs with suspected cancer across 170 practices in Yorkshire.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Leeds first collaborated with PinPoint Data Science in 2023 to develop the AI blood test.
According to The Guardian, around 90,000 postmenopausal women are referred each year in England for investigation after experiencing postmenopausal bleeding, a key symptom of uterine (endometrial) cancer.
While approximately 10,000 women are diagnosed with the disease annually, current NHS pathways require all women to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound, with some subsequently requiring hysteroscopy and biopsy.
The AI-based blood test could allow around one in five women referred with suspected uterine cancer (approximately 18,000 patients each year) to avoid unnecessary invasive investigations by safely ruling out those at very low risk, The Guardian reported.
The technology uses machine learning to analyze 30 blood biomarkers and classify patients as having low, high or high risk of cancer. Of the 16,481 patients included in the trial, 3,313 were referred with suspected gynecologic cancer after postmenopausal hemorrhage.
Professor Sean Duffy, medical director of PinPoint Data Science and former national clinical director of cancer for NHS England, said the results were “remarkable by any clinical standard”.
“But equally, its value lies in safely screening out women at very low risk. This has the potential to save thousands of patients from painful invasive procedures they don’t need,” she told The Guardian.
According to trial results, the test achieved a 99% accuracy rate in both identifying and ruling out gynecologic cancers. The findings suggested that it outperformed conventional diagnostic approaches.
Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust plans to introduce the test for six gynecological cancers and upper gastrointestinal cancers, while Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will initially roll it out for referrals for suspected gynecological cancer.
Consultant gynecologist Tracy Jackson, cancer unit leader at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said the technology could improve patient triage and reduce pressure on services.
“But the reality is that the majority of women we see do not have cancer and we are very aware that investigations can be uncomfortable and, for some, distressing,” she said.
She added that using blood testing to identify low-risk patients in primary care could reduce unnecessary procedures, shorten waiting lists and allow women with cancer to be diagnosed and treated more quickly.
Samantha Harrison, spokesperson for Cancer Research UK, added: “Early detection of cancer saves lives, but at the moment patients are not being diagnosed quickly enough.
“This test could help rule out endometrial cancer in some women, through a simple blood test, without the need for further testing.
“Further research is needed to understand the benefits to patients and the NHS, but the results of this study are promising.”
