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The second phase of a major study will analyse Boots and Tesco shopper data to establish whether OTC purchasing habits can reveal early cancer warning signs, researchers have said. 

The Cancer Loyalty Card Study 2 initiative, or CLOCS-2, will analyse shopping data from almost 3,000 consenting participants – 1,450 patients with cancer and 1,450 healthy controls – to establish whether “subtle trends” in OTC purchasing habits “could be used to flag the early signs of disease” and allow for earlier medical interventions for a range of cancers, said Imperial College London. 

The study, which is funded by Cancer Research UK and will see Imperial researchers team up with colleagues at the Universities of Birmingham, Nottingham and Lancashire, will focus on purchasing trends among adults signed up to loyalty schemes with Boots and Tesco. 

The first phase of the study (CLOCS-1) found differences in the purchasing behaviour of women with and without ovarian cancer with regard to pain and indigestion remedies up to eight months before a diagnosis was made. 

The new study will look at 10 cancer types: bladder, colorectal, endometrial, liver, oesophageal, ovarian, pancreatic, stomach, uterine and vulval.

“Many of these conditions can often present with mild or non-specific symptoms, such as bloating, indigestion or fatigue, which often lead people to self-medicate with OTC products before seeking medical advice,” said the team of Imperial researchers. 

“The goal is to define a purchasing ‘threshold’ that differentiates the habits of healthy individuals from those with cancer, as well as to identify what products are purchased for each cancer type,” they added.

The team said that if CLOCS-2 is successful, they hope to launch an intervention study that could “pave the way for a potential digital alert system” prompting shoppers to seek medical advice. 

Lead researcher professor James Flanagan commented: “This study ultimately has the potential to revolutionise how we can use everyday data to understand and improve people’s health.

“We’re excited to build on the success of our first CLOCS study and to see if looking back at people’s shopping history can give us clues to the way different conditions start to appear.”

Professor Flanagan said that while some associations might be expected, such as higher rates of laxative purchases in people who go on to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer, others can be harder to predict. 

He said: “In our previous study, indigestion medicines turned out to be linked to shoppers with ovarian cancer. 

“So part of this study is very much about finding out which products are in play.”

Marc Donovan, healthcare development director at Boots, said: “CLOCS-2 is an inspiring example of what’s possible when retailers, researchers and charities work together to connect different data points. 

“Over a quarter of the UK population has a Boots Advantage Card, and this study represents the potential for everyday shopping data, when used responsibly, to be a powerful tool in helping customers spot and act on early healthcare warnings.”

Oonagh Turnbull, head of health campaigns at Tesco, commented: “We hope that with the help of our customers across the UK taking part and volunteering to share their Tesco Clubcard data, more lives can be saved by detecting certain cancers early.”

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