Nearly 70,000 women throughout the UK are set to take part in an AI-driven trial designed to advance methods of early breast cancer detection backed by £11m in government funding.
Announced on World Cancer Day on 4 February, the Early Detection using Information Technology in Health (EDITH) trial will see 30 testing sites across the country equipped with AI technology and medical devices.
In its announcement, the UK's Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) described how two specialists are currently required to carry out a typical mammogram. The EDITH trial aims to reduce the number of medical staff required to carry out a mammogram screening to one.
New targets for the UK's National Health Service (NHS) for 2025 call for the body to ensure that four out of five patients receive a diagnosis or be given the all-clear within 28 days of a cancer referral.
NIHR CEO Lucy Chappell said: "This landmark trial could lead to a significant step forward in the early detection of breast cancer, offering women faster, more accurate diagnoses when it matters most."
The £11m funding for the trial was brought by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) as UK Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting plans to launch a National Cancer Plan and a call for evidence later today (4 January).
Streeting said: "As a cancer survivor, I feel like one of the lucky ones. That's why for World Cancer Day, I am committed to publishing a dedicated National Cancer Plan this year, to unleash Britain's potential as a world leader in saving lives from this deadly disease and make the NHS fit for the future through our Plan for Change."
Whilst the UK is making efforts to improve its rates of cancer detection, in some regards it has fallen behind other contemporary nations when it comes to cancer detection rates or the number of oncology trials currently in progress. In his report published last September, Lord Ara Darzi concluded that the UK has appreciably higher cancer mortality rates than other countries. That same report additionally concluded that in 2024, more than 35,000 genomic tests were completed each month but only around 60% on time.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has not detailed which technologies or AI models will be used as part of the EDITH trial. Presently, the body estimates that there are approximately 2.1 million breast cancer screens carried out across the country every year.
New research published by GlobalData ahead of World Cancer Day found that oncology trials dominate ongoing clinical trials worldwide. Of those trials, breast cancer ranks third for the number of active trials just behind trials investigating pain and solid tumours.