British scientists have developed a “revolutionary” genetic test which cuts the time it takes to diagnose brain tumours from eight weeks to two hours.
Thousands of patients each year are set to benefit from the £450 test, which rapidly “combines separate tests into one” to classify the type of tumour and provide an accurate prognosis on the same day patients have surgery.
The method was developed by scientists at the University of Nottingham along with doctors at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
About 12,000 patients are diagnosed with brain tumours in the UK annually. It is one of the deadliest types of cancers, with many dying within one year.
Charles Trigg, 45, was diagnosed with stage 4 aggressive glioblastoma
CHARLES TRIGG
Patients with brain cancer undergo surgery to get a sample of the tumour, which is then sent off for tests to determine what type of tumour they have and what treatment is best. Currently this process can take six to eight weeks because the sample has to be sent to specialised labs. This wait is traumatic for patients and also delays the start of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
The new method uses high-tech portable devices that can sequence the DNA of tumour samples as patients are undergoing surgery, providing detailed results within two hours.
In a study, published in the journal Neuro-Oncology, the Nottingham team used the technology during 50 brain tumour surgeries, with a 100 per cent success rate. The information can be made available during the operation to inform surgeon’s decision making.
Dr Stuart Smith, a neurosurgeon at Nottingham, said: “Traditionally, the process of diagnosing brain tumours has been slow and expensive. Now, with this new technology we can do more for patients because we can get answers so much more quickly which will have a much bigger influence on clinical decision making, in as little as two hours.”
The software tool, called ROBIN, sequences tumour DNA using devices developed by Oxford Nanopore Technologies. The team is now looking to get the new testing rolled out at NHS Trusts across the UK.
An Oxford Nanopore Technologies device, known as the MinION
ANTHONY KWAN/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES
Professor Matt Loose, who developed the test, said the test is also cheaper than current methods. He said: “There are a few reasons for this. Our method can eliminate the need for four to five separate tests, reducing costs as a consequence as we are getting more information from the single test we do.”
Charles Trigg, 45, was diagnosed with a stage 4 aggressive glioblastoma in April and he had tests to assess how sensitive the tumour will be to chemotherapy and to provide a prognosis. The method reduced the waiting time for results from eight weeks to one week.
Trigg said: “The pace is phenomenal, and it gives you that certainty and clarity, regardless of whether you like the information, I can’t change the information, but what I can do, is take the information I’ve been given early — and absorb it, feel it and start to plan for the next stage.”
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