https://nationalscreening.blog.gov.uk/2025/03/06/more-than-200-stakeholders-attend-uk-nsc-seminar-on-multi-cancer-detection-tests/

More than 200 stakeholders attend UK NSC seminar on multi-cancer detection tests

TJ Day, 6 March 2025 - General

More than 200 stakeholders attended a fascinating UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) seminar exploring multi-cancer detection tests (MCDs) and their potential use in a screening context.

Attendees included academics, clinicians, researchers, industry representatives, patient organisations, screening providers, policy makers and members of the public.

UK NSC Director of Programmes Prof Anne Mackie chaired the event, which featured presentations from Dr Jessica Lloyd, Cancer Research UK Strategic Evidence Manager, and UK NSC Public Health Registrar Dr Tom Callender.

Jess’s presentation explained the evidence base and technology behind MCDs, how they could interact with current cancer screening programmes or any future multi-cancer screening programme, and the key evidence gaps and questions for screening policy makers.

Tom followed by summarising the work the UK NSC is doing to formulate a position on the evaluation of MCDs for screening. The committee’s aim will be to assess this new technology in a screening context in the most effective and safest way possible.

A lively panel question and answer session followed the presentations.

Catch up on the presentations

You can view the presentations from the seminar by clicking on the following links:

Where are we now? A focus on multi-cancer detection tests: Dr Jessica Lloyd

Multi-cancer tests in screening: Dr Tom Callender

Why outcomes must be studied individually for each cancer

Tom is also the lead author of a recent paper on MCDs published in the British Medical Journal.

The article, Screening for multiple cancers: evaluation must go beyond aggregate measures, argues that when assessing the evidence for MCDs for screening, we must study the outcomes for each individual cancer included in a test rather than looking only at overall (or aggregate) measures.

There are many reasons why a condition-by-condition approach remains the safest way to assess evidence for screening, including important considerations  around the natural history of diseases, overdiagnosis and overtreatment, and the accuracy of tests.

The natural history of different cancers varies substantially as does the performance of a single test in detecting different cancers at early stages when screening could lead to benefit. So, a single test for multiple cancers will have different cancer-specific benefits and harms. Such differences have clinical and policy implications that would be missed by solely focusing on aggregate, rather than individual, cancer outcomes.

The paper explains why we should stick to approaches and ethical principles that have delivered safe, effective, and acceptable screening programmes in the UK. It concludes that aggregate outcomes are a necessary first step that could show that an MCD has potential, but policymakers will ultimately need robust evidence of cancer-specific benefits and harms to effectively consider multi-cancer screening programme proposals. 

Keep up to date 

The UK NSC blog provides up to date news from the UK NSC. You can register to receive updates direct to your inbox, so there is no need to keep checking for new articles. If you have any questions about this blog article, or about the work of the UK NSC, please email uknsc@dhsc.gov.uk. 

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