All-cause mortality as the primary endpoint for the GRAIL/National Health Service England multi-cancer screening trial

J Med Screen. 2022 Mar;29(1):3-6. doi: 10.1177/09691413211059638. Epub 2021 Dec 1.

Abstract

A randomized trial of the GRAIL GalleriTM multi-cancer screening test is being planned for the National Health Service in England, and will have 140,000 healthy participants aged 50-79: 70,000 exposed to screening and 70,000 unexposed. The test reportedly detects 50 different cancers and is expected to reduce all-cancer mortality by approximately 25%. Given this effect size-and that cancer deaths constitute a large fraction of all deaths-the trial is sufficiently large to test the effect on all-cause mortality. Because most patients believe cancer screening "saves lives", the GRAIL/National Health Service collaboration could set the evaluation standard for multi-cancer screening.

Keywords: Cancer screening; multi-cancer early detection; multi-cancer screening; screening.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Early Detection of Cancer*
  • England / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Mass Screening
  • Neoplasms* / diagnosis
  • State Medicine