A multicancer blood test did not reduce late-stage cancer after three rounds

The edition in brief

The NHS-Galleri trial randomised 142,250 people aged 50 to 77 in England to have a multicancer early-detection blood test at up to three annual visits or to have their blood stored. After three rounds, stage III or IV cancer across 12 prespecified types was no less common with testing (incidence rate ratio 1.03, 95% CI 0.92–1.14); stage IV cancer was lower, with a ratio of 0.86 and an interval touching 1.00, and longer follow-up is planned. In KEYLYNK-001, 1,367 women with newly diagnosed advanced BRCA-non-mutated ovarian cancer were randomised to chemotherapy with or without pembrolizumab and then maintenance; pembrolizumab with olaparib maintenance lengthened progression-free survival against chemotherapy alone (HR 0.71 in the whole population at final analysis), but pembrolizumab without olaparib did not, and serious treatment-related adverse events were more common. In STAMINA, 700 men on androgen deprivation therapy across 15 English NHS trusts were randomised to 12 months of supervised exercise with dietary and behavioural support or to optimised usual care; quality of life and fatigue both improved more with the programme.