Thousands of women could be spared painful cancer exam by new NHS AI blood test

Thousands of women could be spared having a painful intrusive exam for suspected cancer thanks to a new AI-powered blood test being trialled by the NHS.

Around 90,000 postmenopausal women a year in England are referred by their GP to be investigated for possible womb cancer because they are bleeding a lot.

Around 10,000 women a year in England are diagnosed with the disease – which is also known as uterine or endometrial cancer – and 2,700 die from it.

However, the PinPoint blood test could save one in five of those women – 18,000 a year – from needing to undergo a diagnostic procedure called a transvaginal ultrasound scan, which measures the thickness of the lining of their womb, and many find uncomfortable or painful.

Avoiding having that test unnecessarily has become a realistic prospect because, although 20% of women referred turn out not to have the disease, under the current NHS system of diagnosing cancers of the reproductive system, all have a pelvic examination involving an ultrasound scan. If doctors still suspect cancer, women potentially then have a tissue sample taken during a biopsy and a further examination called a hysteroscopy, which can often be painful.

Prof Sean Duffy, the firm’s chief medical officer – an ex-NHS England national clinical director for cancer – said the test’s 99% accuracy for womb cancer “is remarkable by any clinical standards”.

“But equally, its value lies in safely ruling out very low-risk women. This has the potential to spare thousands of patients from painful invasive procedures they do not need.”

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Source: The Guardian, 8 July 2026