NHS plans pilot of rapid brain tumour genomic test

NHS England plans to pilot a genomic test that can classify some brain tumours while patients are still undergoing surgery, with results reported in about two hours. The test, developed at the University of Nottingham with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, analyses tumour DNA and could help clinicians make decisions sooner, though its performance across the planned pilot has not yet been established. The pilot is planned for five specialist centres: Nottingham University Hospitals, University Hospitals Birmingham, Great Ormond Street Hospital, King’s College Hospital and Newcastle Hospitals. NHS England also plans to extend the service to sites in Bristol, Oxford, Leeds and Manchester, but no timetable for that expansion was provided. The test uses nanopore sequencing. Small samples taken from a tumour are sent to a pathology laboratory, where a sequencing machine reads DNA to produce a genetic profile that can help identify the tumour type. Reports say a full diagnosis using existing processes can take up to six to eight weeks, although NHS officials have also described standard diagnosis times more generally as weeks or days.