Britain begins the largest experiment in the world .. a blood test that may eliminate cancer

Britain said on Monday it would start the world's largest trial of the "Gallery" test, a pioneering blood test that could detect more than 50 types of cancer before symptoms appear.

Britain's National Health Service said it wanted to recruit 140,000 volunteers in England to see how well the test worked as part of a randomized control trial.

The "Gallery" test, produced by the company "Grill", searches in the blood of volunteers to detect any nucleic acids caused by cancer cells.

Early diagnosis of cancers significantly increases survival rates.

Lung cancer is by far the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for about a fifth of deaths from the malignant disease.

The NHS said lung, bowel, prostate and breast cancers were responsible for 45 per cent of cancer deaths in the UK.

"We need to study the Gallery test carefully to see if it can significantly reduce the number of cancers diagnosed at a late stage," said Peter Sasini, professor of cancer prevention at King's College London. It is a game-changer for early cancer detection, and we are excited to lead this important research."