Galleri® Multi-Cancer Early Detection Blood Test

Galleri is a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood test developed by GRAIL. From a single blood draw it looks for a signal shared by more than 50 types of cancer, and if a signal is found it predicts where in the body it is most likely to have come from. It is a screening test for people who feel well, intended to be used alongside the NHS screening programmes you are already offered, not instead of them.

All cells, including cancer cells, shed fragments of DNA into the bloodstream. The Galleri test analyses this cell-free DNA for methylation patterns, chemical marks on the DNA that are unique to cancer. A machine-learning classifier reads those patterns to decide whether a cancer signal is present and, if so, which tissue it most likely originated from. Your samples are analysed at GRAIL's laboratory, which is CLIA-certified and accredited by the College of American Pathologists.

The test screens for a shared signal across more than 50 cancer types, including many that have no recommended screening programme in the UK, such as pancreatic, ovarian, oesophageal, liver, stomach, head and neck cancers, lymphoma and myeloma. Only four cancers currently have an NHS screening programme: breast, cervical, bowel and lung. The full list of cancer types is shown further down this page.

Galleri is recommended for adults with an elevated risk of cancer, such as those aged 50 or older. It is not recommended for people who are pregnant, aged 21 or younger, or undergoing active cancer treatment. It is a test for people without symptoms: if you have symptoms that could be cancer, see your GP without delay rather than booking a screening test. A Goodbody clinician reviews your suitability before the test goes ahead.

In PATHFINDER 2, the largest interventional study of an MCED test in North America with 35,878 participants aged 50 and over, specificity was 99.6%, meaning fewer than 1 in 200 people without cancer received a false positive. Of those with a cancer signal detected, 60.3% were found to have cancer (positive predictive value). The test detected 39.3% of all cancers diagnosed within a year, rising to 69.8% for the 12 cancers that cause two-thirds of cancer deaths. Like every screening test it does not detect all cancers, and both false positives and false negatives occur.

A cancer signal detected result is not a diagnosis. It means the test found a signal that needs confirmatory diagnostic evaluation, usually imaging and sometimes a biopsy, guided by the predicted origin of the signal. Your Goodbody clinician will contact you to explain the result, and after-care is included in the price: your Goodbody clinician follows up with you and recommends the further tests you need. In the NHS-Galleri trial the predicted origin was correct 92.5% of the time, and in PATHFINDER 2 the median time to a diagnostic answer was 48 days. If cancer is not confirmed, it may mean cancer is not present or that it could not be detected.

It means the test did not find a cancer signal in your blood at the time of testing. It does not rule out cancer: some cancers do not shed enough DNA to be detected, and the test is not designed to find every cancer. Keep attending the NHS screening you are invited to, and see your GP about any new symptoms.

NHS-Galleri is the first randomised controlled trial of a multi-cancer early detection test, with more than 142,000 people in England aged 50 to 77 who gave three annual blood samples. Adding Galleri to standard NHS screening increased the number of screen-detected cancers fourfold, and stage IV diagnoses in the 12 prespecified cancers fell by 26% in the third screening round.

The trial did not meet its primary endpoint of reducing combined stage III and IV cancers across all participants. In February 2026 GRAIL reported a trend towards fewer stage III and IV cancers in the group that was tested, but not enough to meet the goal the trial set. Independent researchers have cautioned that the benefit of multi-cancer screening remains unproven until it is shown to reduce deaths from cancer, and the NHS has said it will study the full results before deciding how tests like this could be used in future.

Galleri is not currently available on the NHS. It is available privately in the UK, including at Goodbody, as an addition to the NHS screening programmes you are already offered, not a replacement for them. A result with no cancer signal does not rule out cancer. More about the trial: nhs-galleri.org.

At any of Goodbody's 250+ clinics across the UK or with a nurse at your home. After you book, a Goodbody clinician confirms the test is suitable for you and takes you through the consent forms. A trained phlebotomist then takes two venous blood samples (two tubes) in one draw, using the GRAIL-specified tubes. Blood draws take place Monday to Thursday and are posted the same day so your samples reach the laboratory in good condition. No fasting or preparation is needed.

Your samples are sent to GRAIL's laboratory, where analysis takes around ten working days from arrival. Allowing for transit, results are typically available within about three weeks of your appointment. A Goodbody clinician shares your result with you and explains what it means.

The Galleri test costs £1,299 at a Goodbody clinic in the UK, or £1,329 with a nurse visit at home. Both options include your clinician consultation, laboratory analysis, your results review and after-care if a cancer signal is detected. There is nothing extra to pay. Flexible payment options, including Clearpay and Splitit, are available at checkout.

Both are multi-cancer screening blood tests for people without symptoms, and Goodbody offers both. They work differently. Galleri analyses cell-free DNA for methylation patterns and screens for a shared signal across 50+ cancer types, including blood cancers, with evidence from the NHS-Galleri randomised trial and PATHFINDER 2. TruCheck looks for circulating tumour cells shed by more than 70 types of solid tumour and does not cover blood cancers. Neither test detects every cancer. If you are unsure which is right for you, our clinicians are happy to talk it through on 01225 444 144.