Cancer Tests
Private Cancer Screening, Blood Tests, Cancer Monitoring and Genetic Testing
Innermost Healthcare provides private cancer tests in the UK, with consultant-led access to advanced cancer blood tests, multi-cancer screening, cancer surveillance and hereditary cancer genetic testing. Services are available from our clinic in Cardiff for patients across Wales and the UK.
Different cancer tests answer different questions. Some look for signals that may indicate cancer is present now, some are designed to monitor cancer after diagnosis or treatment, while others assess your inherited risk of developing cancer in the future.
Our clinical team can help you understand which type of cancer test is appropriate for you and what the result can – and cannot – tell you.
Which Type of Cancer Test Do I Need?
Do you want to look for signs that cancer may be present now?
A multi-cancer blood test such as Galleri® or Trucheck™ Intelli may be appropriate to consider.
Have you already been diagnosed with cancer or previously completed cancer treatment?
CancerTrack™ cancer surveillance and monitoring may provide additional information about cancer activity, treatment response or possible recurrence over time.
Are you concerned about a particular type of cancer?
A cancer-specific screening or clinical assessment pathway, such as cervical screening or ovarian cancer assessment, may be more appropriate.
Do you want to understand your inherited risk of developing cancer?
Hereditary cancer genetic testing looks for inherited genetic variants that may increase your lifetime risk of particular cancers.
Private Cancer Tests UK – Multi-Cancer Blood Tests
Multi-cancer early detection blood tests are designed to look for biological signals associated with a number of different cancers from a single blood sample.
Innermost Healthcare provides access to different technologies for multi-cancer testing, including Trucheck™ Intelli and Galleri®.
Galleri® Multi-Cancer Early Detection Test
Galleri screens for a signal shared by more than 50 types of cancer from a single blood sample.
Galleri analyses methylation patterns in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) circulating in the bloodstream. If a cancer signal is detected, the test also predicts the most likely location or tissue of origin to help guide further diagnostic investigation.
Galleri has been evaluated in large prospective clinical studies, including the NHS-Galleri trial involving more than 140,000 participants.
Galleri does not detect every cancer and a negative result does not exclude cancer. A Cancer Signal Detected result requires appropriate diagnostic investigation.
Trucheck™ Intelli Multi-Cancer Screening Test
Trucheck Intelli is a blood test designed to screen for up to 70 different solid cancer types.
Trucheck uses circulating tumour cells and associated tumour-cell populations found in the bloodstream. It uses a fundamentally different technology from Galleri to look for evidence associated with a solid cancer and help identify its likely origin.
Trucheck is intended for cancer screening in people without a known cancer diagnosis and is available through Innermost Healthcare with clinical oversight and pre-test information.
Find out more about Trucheck Intelli →
Galleri or Trucheck – Which Cancer Blood Test Should I Choose?
Galleri and Trucheck are not versions of the same test. They use different biological markers, different laboratory technologies and have different clinical evidence bases.
The most appropriate test depends on factors including your age, personal and family history, the type of cancer information you are seeking and your preferences regarding the benefits and limitations of each test.
We can explain the differences before you decide whether testing is appropriate.
Cancer Surveillance and Treatment Monitoring
CancerTrack™ Cancer Monitoring Test
CancerTrack is designed for people who have already been diagnosed with cancer, are receiving cancer treatment, are in remission or are being monitored following previous cancer treatment.
CancerTrack answers a different question from Galleri and Trucheck. Galleri and Trucheck are principally designed to look for possible cancer signals in people without a known cancer diagnosis, whereas CancerTrack is designed for ongoing cancer surveillance and monitoring.
CancerTrack analyses tumour-derived material circulating in the bloodstream, including circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA), to provide information about cancer activity and molecular changes over time.
It may be used alongside conventional cancer follow-up to help assess treatment response, monitor changes in tumour biology, identify molecular evidence of treatment resistance and look for evidence of cancer recurrence.
Repeated CancerTrack testing can allow results to be compared over time, helping clinicians monitor changes during treatment or follow-up.
CancerTrack does not replace CT, MRI, PET imaging, biopsies, tumour markers or standard oncology follow-up. Results should be interpreted alongside the patient’s wider clinical information.
Learn more about CancerTrack™ Cancer Monitoring →
Cervical Cancer Screening and HPV Testing
Cervical screening can identify high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cell abnormalities that may increase the risk of cervical cancer.
Innermost Healthcare offers both consultant-performed cervical screening in Cardiff and a private home HPV self-sampling test.
Private Cervical Screening Test
A consultant-performed cervical screening test checks for high-risk HPV and, where appropriate, abnormal cervical cells.
Private Cervical Screening in Cardiff →
Home HPV Test
For patients who prefer self-sampling, our home HPV test screens for high-risk HPV from a sample taken privately at home, with consultant review of the result and advice about appropriate follow-up.
Home HPV Test for Cervical Cancer Screening →
Ovarian Cancer Assessment and Testing
There is currently no recommended population screening programme for ovarian cancer in the UK.
However, ovarian cancer risk assessment, blood testing and ultrasound may be appropriate in selected circumstances depending on symptoms, age, family history, genetic risk and other clinical factors.
Testing may include CA125 blood testing, ovarian ultrasound and, where clinically appropriate, longitudinal risk assessment such as ROCA.
These tests should be interpreted in the context of your individual circumstances rather than being regarded as a test that can reliably exclude ovarian cancer.
Hereditary Cancer Genetic Testing
Could Cancer Run in Your Family?
Some cancers are associated with inherited genetic variants that can significantly increase a person’s lifetime risk of developing particular cancers.
Hereditary cancer testing answers a different question from Galleri, Trucheck or CancerTrack.
Galleri and Trucheck look for biological evidence that may be associated with a cancer that is present now. CancerTrack is designed to monitor a cancer that has already been diagnosed or treated. Hereditary cancer genetic testing instead looks for inherited genetic variants that may increase your risk of developing cancer in the future.
Hereditary cancer testing can include:
- BRCA1 and BRCA2 – associated with increased risks of breast, ovarian, prostate and pancreatic cancers.
- Lynch syndrome genes – associated particularly with bowel, endometrial and several other cancers.
- Other individual cancer-predisposition genes.
- Comprehensive multi-gene hereditary cancer panels examining many cancer-predisposition genes simultaneously.
Genetic testing may be particularly relevant if you have a strong family history of cancer, cancer occurring at a young age, several relatives affected by related cancers, rare cancers within the family or a known cancer-predisposition gene variant in a relative.
Appropriate interpretation and counselling are important because hereditary genetic results may have implications not only for you, but also for members of your family.
Explore Hereditary Cancer Genetic Testing →
Medicover PreSENTIA 62-Gene Hereditary Cancer Test →
Understanding the Different Types of Cancer Testing
Multi-cancer screening: Galleri and Trucheck look for biological signals that may indicate an otherwise undiagnosed cancer.
Cancer surveillance: CancerTrack is intended for people with a current or previous cancer diagnosis and can provide additional information during treatment or follow-up.
Cancer-specific screening and assessment: Tests such as cervical screening, HPV testing, CA125 and ultrasound are directed towards particular cancer types or organs.
Hereditary cancer genetic testing: Genetic testing looks for inherited variants associated with an increased lifetime risk of developing cancer.
Consultant-Led Cancer Testing
Cancer testing should involve more than simply taking a sample and receiving a laboratory result.
Innermost Healthcare is a Healthcare Inspectorate Wales registered, consultant-led healthcare provider. Our cancer testing services include appropriate clinical oversight, interpretation of results and advice about appropriate next steps.
Where a screening or monitoring test identifies a possible cancer signal or another abnormal result, further diagnostic investigation or specialist oncology assessment may be required.
Important Information About Cancer Tests
No cancer screening or blood test can completely exclude cancer.
Multi-cancer blood tests such as Galleri and Trucheck should not replace established NHS cancer screening programmes or appropriate investigation of symptoms.
Cancer surveillance tests such as CancerTrack should not replace conventional oncology follow-up, imaging or other investigations recommended by your treating specialist.
If you have unexplained symptoms or symptoms that could indicate cancer, you should seek appropriate medical assessment rather than relying on a screening blood test.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cancer Tests
Is there one blood test that can detect every cancer?
No. Multi-cancer blood tests can look for signals associated with many different cancers, but no currently available blood test detects every cancer and false-negative and false-positive results can occur.
What Is a Multi-Cancer Early Detection Blood Test?
Multi-cancer early detection tests use biological signals found in blood to look for evidence associated with several different cancer types at the same time. Galleri and Trucheck use different technologies to do this.
What Is Cancer Surveillance?
Cancer surveillance is monitoring undertaken after a cancer diagnosis or treatment. Tests such as CancerTrack can analyse tumour-derived material in the blood over time and may provide additional information about treatment response, molecular changes or possible recurrence.
What Is the Difference Between Galleri, Trucheck and CancerTrack?
Galleri and Trucheck are primarily designed to screen people without a known cancer diagnosis for possible cancer signals. CancerTrack is designed for people who already have, or have previously had, cancer and is used to help monitor disease over time.
Does a Negative Galleri or Trucheck Result Mean I Do Not Have Cancer?
No. A negative screening result reduces concern within the limitations of that particular test but cannot completely exclude cancer.
Can CancerTrack Tell Me That My Cancer Has Definitely Gone?
No. CancerTrack provides additional molecular information but should not be interpreted in isolation. Cancer status and treatment response should continue to be assessed using appropriate oncology follow-up, imaging, pathology and other investigations.
Should I Still Attend NHS Cancer Screening?
Yes. Multi-cancer blood testing should complement rather than replace established cancer screening programmes for which you are eligible.
What Is the Difference Between Cancer Screening and Hereditary Cancer Testing?
Cancer screening looks for evidence associated with cancer that may already be present. Hereditary cancer genetic testing looks for inherited genetic variants that may increase your lifetime risk of developing particular cancers.
Can I Have a Cancer Blood Test If I Have Symptoms?
Screening tests are not a substitute for investigating symptoms. If you have symptoms that could indicate cancer, clinical assessment and appropriate diagnostic investigation should take priority.
Need Advice About Cancer Testing?
If you are unsure whether you need cancer screening, cancer surveillance or hereditary cancer genetic testing, contact Innermost Healthcare and our clinical team can help you understand the available options before you decide whether to proceed.