Clinic offers 'wonder' test to detect disease

A 'wonder' test that claims to detect 250 signs of cancer, heart disease and viruses is being offered at a private London clinic.

It is among a new wave of costly screening checks aimed at executives concerned about their drinking, lack of exercise and over-work.

City firms are already planning to offer the blood test as part of staff benefit packages.

It has proved popular in America, at least partly due to TV star Oprah Winfrey taking the test and finding she was in good health.

Scientists have raised fears that it could trigger hypochondria or reveal cancer or heart disease risks that never materialise.

The Brompton Cross Clinic in South Kensington is the first in Britain to offer the £2,200 test, which involves doctors taking two tablespoons of blood from the patient.

The sample is sent to Texas, where 250 proteins in the bloodstream known as biomarkers, ranging from indicators such as cholesterol to signs of vitamin deficiency and heart attack risk, are scanned. Standard tests typically screen for up to 40 biomarkers. Dr Amber Kennard, managing director of the clinic, said: "This is the most comprehensive one-stop health check you can get. We are trying to catch people before the disasters happen so we can draw up an action plan to avoid or minimise the risk.

"Doctors in America and Australia cannot believe we do not get these kinds of tests once a year to keep on top of our health. We let things happen to us instead of taking control."

But Dr Jonathan Howell, a consultant in public health and screening expert, warned the test could cause unnecessary anxiety. "Testing so many biomarkers is going to throw up some kind of irregularity and you never know if they will become a major problem," he said.

The test, called Biophysical 250, was invented in the US and scans for raised levels of markers linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, pneumonia and cancers. Doctors are then sent a "bible" of information containing marks next to each indicator signalling red for alert, yellow for caution and green for low risk.

They compile an action plan with the patient, which includes sending them for medical tests for any risks highlighted or changing lifestyle to improve nutrition or hormone imbalances.

Dr Kennard, who has tested eight patients, said: "This is aimed at executives reaching the age when they have not paid as much attention to their health as they should and are seeing colleagues developing problems."

Dr Tim Gant, senior scientist with the Medical Research Council, said: "This could be useful as it draws together all the standard checks into one supertest. But there are some new biomarkers here that have not been fully explored."