Pioneering new cancer blood test
Organisations developing a pioneering new blood test for cancer in West Yorkshire have renewed their call for patients referred to hospitals with a suspected cancer diagnosis to come forward and help speed up the test’s potential introduction to the NHS.
Patients visiting their GP surgery or hospital in Calderdale over recent months may have seen posters and leaflets for the ‘PinPoint Test’.
For the last two years, PinPoint has been undergoing an evaluation in the NHS to see how it performs in the real world, before being made available to the wider public.
To date, more than 13,000 people on the so-called ‘twoweek wait’ fast track for cancer have volunteered to help by having a simple blood test.
Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust along with some GP practices have been involved in the evaluation.
“The response from people in West Yorkshire has been incredible. Without their generosity we simply wouldn’t be where we are today.” said Giles Tully, CEO of PinPoint Data Science.
“After more than 13,000 tests done, we are now in the final stages of validating the PinPoint test for cancers such as bowel, skin and breast.”
Deehan Mair manages the PinPoint Test evaluation at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary. She is passionate about the potential of this homegrown innovation and speaks to patients daily about how it might help people in their position in future.
“PinPoint could really help us with some of the most serious and common cancers in the UK.” PinPoint uses AI to analyse a range of markers in the blood.