The company’s liquid biopsy platform will be evaluated as a tool to help general practitioners identify patients with abdominal symptoms who need urgent cancer workups.
Mercy BioAnalytics has been selected to contribute tests to STRIDE-RCT, a randomized interventional trial of blood-based multicancer detection in England’s National Health Service (NHS) primary care system. The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company is one of two US-based companies among the first four selected.
The University of Birmingham leads the trial, which is funded by the Office for Life Sciences through the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research. The trial will evaluate whether Mercy’s test can support faster triage of patients for appropriate follow-up and more efficient use of healthcare resources.
Mercy’s participation draws on its liquid biopsy platform, which powers the company’s Evident-branded tests.
“We are delighted to contribute our testing platform to this important multicancer trial,” says Dawn Mattoon, PhD, CEO of Mercy, in a release. “STRIDE-RCT provides an opportunity to assess how innovative blood testing can help clinicians identify patients who need rapid workup to enable earlier cancer detection while optimizing use of precious healthcare resources.”
Trial Design and Patient Population
The UK Department of Health and Social Care announced STRIDE-RCT on Nov 4. The trial is expected to involve more than 20,000 NHS patients across at least 200 general practices in England. Adults aged 45 and older who visit participating practices with abdominal symptoms, such as persistent bloating or discomfort, will be offered the opportunity to take part.
STRIDE-RCT is a cluster randomized platform trial with multiple arms. The blood tests in the trial are designed to detect multiple types of cancer in patients presenting with vague abdominal symptoms. For most tests, patients will give a blood sample at their general practice alongside routine blood work. Researchers will assess whether the results, used alongside clinical judgment, can help general practitioners decide who needs an urgent referral. A positive result could help inform an urgent referral, with further investigation needed to confirm a diagnosis.
Professor Aneel Bhangu and associate professor Dmitri Nepogodiev serve as co-chief investigators for the University of Birmingham.
Clinical Need
According to the UK Department of Health and Social Care, approximately 71,000 people in England are diagnosed each year with pancreatic, stomach, liver, ovarian, or bowel cancer, and these cancers account for nearly 35,000 deaths annually. These are among the cancers covered by the trial.
“The earlier cancers are diagnosed, the more chance they can be successfully treated, and lives can be saved,” says Yvette Cooper, secretary of state for health and social care, in announcing the trial. “This world-first trial will establish whether simple blood tests can help general practitioners identify much sooner the patients who need urgent support. Innovations like these are a key part of our National Cancer Plan.”
Mercy’s Mercy Halo liquid biopsy platform uses biomarker colocalization to interrogate abundant, blood-based extracellular vesicles and particles that carry unique cancer signatures from their parent cells. The company’s initial focus is the early detection of ovarian and lung cancers.
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