NHS to introduce AI blood test for cancer and rapid endometriosis checks, cutting years-long waits

Cancer blood test

A new blood test called PinPoint uses artificial intelligence to analyse 30 markers and predict a patient's risk of gynaecological cancer as low, elevated or high. The test, developed by Leeds-based PinPoint Data Science, was assessed in five NHS trusts in Yorkshire on 16,481 cancer referrals, including 2,953 with suspected gynaecological cancer (one source reports 3,313 women referred for possible womb cancer). Results showed a 99% accuracy rate in detecting and ruling out the disease.

Around 90,000 postmenopausal women in England are referred each year for post-menopausal bleeding, yet only about one in 10 have cancer. The PinPoint test, costing around £30, could spare an estimated 18,000 women a year from transvaginal ultrasound scans, which many find uncomfortable or painful.

If the score is very low, you're at low risk, and actually probably the last thing the patient wants is a load of invasive tests - it is going to be unpleasant, it is a very stressful experience being checked for cancer.

Mid Yorkshire NHS teaching trust and Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust plan to start using the test for gynaecological and upper gastrointestinal cancers. Dr Savage said the test also performs well for lung, head and neck, and lower gastrointestinal cancers.

Endometriosis tests

Two non-invasive tests for endometriosis have been recommended in draft guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for use in GP surgeries in England and Wales. Endotest analyses saliva for microRNA markers, while EndoSure measures electrical signals in the gut via abdominal sensor pads. EndoSure provides results in as little as 45 minutes.

Endometriosis affects around one in 10 women of reproductive age in the UK, but the average diagnosis wait is over nine years, rising to 11 years for ethnically diverse communities. More than half of women surveyed had visited their GP over 10 times before diagnosis, and many had attended A&E.

A diagnosis of endometriosis can for some women take the best part of a decade, with the UK average standing at nine years and four months. These technologies have the potential to change that by giving primary care professionals better non-invasive tools to identify endometriosis earlier.

The tests will be available under a three-year evidence-gathering period, with final approval possible afterwards. They are not standalone diagnostics but are intended to speed up referral and treatment.

Patient impact

Patient accounts highlight the toll of delayed diagnosis. Ami Robertson, 23, experienced pain from age 16 but was repeatedly told it was irritable bowel syndrome. Sharan Uppal paid privately for the gut test for her daughter Simran after years of GP visits and A&E trips. The positive result empowered her to push for a referral.

Separately, University of Edinburgh researchers have identified differences in androgen hormones that could lead to a blood test for endometriosis, though that work remains at the research stage.