The world-first NHS pilot of the test will enable patients to receive a definitive brain tumour diagnosis in days rather than weeks.

Thousands of patients with suspected brain tumours could get a diagnosis and start treatment sooner as the NHS trials a rapid genomic test in five specialist centres before access is expanded further across England.

The rapid genomic test was developed by scientists and medics at the University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH). It works by quickly analysing the DNA or genetic code of a small tumour sample taken during biopsy or surgery, to help doctors identify what type of brain tumour a patient has.

NHS England’s pilot builds on a smaller trial that is already underway in Nottingham and Birmingham. In a recent operation at NUH, a tumour sample was taken in theatre and tested in the same hospital. The sequencing took around 20 minutes, with a result fed back to the surgical team less than two hours after the sample reached the laboratory – while the surgery was still under way. 

The rapid result gave the team an early classification of the tumour, with further analysis providing a fuller molecular diagnosis within days rather than the weeks patients can currently wait. 

Huge leap forward

“For people with suspected brain tumours, getting the right diagnosis quickly can feel like a race against time, while waiting for answers can be agonising for them and their families,” said Frankie Swords, national medical director for NHS England and the department of health and social care. 

“This remarkable rapid test has the potential to completely transform how we diagnose brain tumours, with results reaching patients in a matter of days rather than weeks,” she explained. “This is a huge leap forward for patients – a faster diagnosis means they can start the right treatment or access clinical trials sooner, while for some patients it could mean surgeons can make potentially life-changing decisions about their surgery while on the operating table.”

Yvette Cooper, health and social care secretary, described the technology as an “incredible breakthrough” and said it provides “vital genetic information to surgeons within a matter of hours or days” to enable them to offer the “most effective treatment to patients faster than ever”. She also gave recognition to the UK’s “world-leading” life sciences sector and its strength in genomics that enables NHS patients to be “routinely among the first in the world to benefit from these kinds of innovations”.

The first phase of the pilot will introduce the testing across five NHS trusts: University Hospitals Birmingham, Nottingham University Hospitals, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, King’s College Hospital and Newcastle Hospitals. Additional genomic laboratory sites in Bristol, Oxford, Leeds and Manchester will introduce the testing in the second phase.

Stuart Smith, consultant neurosurgeon at NUH and clinical associate professor at the University of Nottingham, was part of the team that developed the rapid genomic testing. He described the ability to have detailed information about the tumour at the point when decisions are being made in the operating theatre as “game-changing”. He added: “This gives us a glimpse of how brain tumour surgery could change in the future – with genomic information available during the operation itself, helping us make more informed decisions for each individual patient.”