Breakthrough ultra-rapid test that can diagnose brain tumours in just two hours could be rolled out on NHS in a year

The Sun

21-05-2025

SCIENTISTS have created an "ultra-fast" test which can slash the time it takes to diagnose brain tumours.
At the moment, patients usually wait six to eight weeks to find out the type of brain tumour.
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But the new "game changer" tool, which assesses the DNA from a sample taken from the tumour, can achieve this in around two hours, experts found.
They said this means that patients can start treatment faster and the test may even help surgical teams while they are performing operations to remove tumours.
Researchers from the University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) assessed the new test on 50 patients.
Publishing their findings in the journal Neuro-Oncology, the research team said the new test was "in concordance with standard of care" for "90 per cent of cases".
Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, experts said they hoped the test would be rolled out on the NHS 'as soon as possible' — potentially "within the next year or so".
They said the new test can provide diagnostic results in under two hours from surgery, and detailed tumour classifications within minutes of sequencing.
Traditionally, samples of tumours are extracted during surgery to be taken away, tested, and examined under a microscope in a pathology lab.
While the process is mostly accurate, it can take up to eight weeks to definitively diagnose the type of tumour.
This long wait is also "traumatic" for patients and can delay chemotherapy and radiotherapy, they experts said.
But the new method, called ROBIN (rapid nanopore brain intraoperative classification), can potentially eliminate this delay, they added.
Professor Matt Loose, from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham, developed a method to sequence specific parts of human DNA at "higher depth" using Oxford Nanopore Technologies portable sequencing devices.
The team have now used this method to genetically test brain tumour samples.
"Not only is the test more accurate and quicker, but it is also cheaper than current methods," he said.
"Our calculations stand at around £450 per person, potentially less when scaled-up.
"Most importantly, it delivers results to the patients when they need them."
'The degree of accuracy is incredible'
Neurosurgeon Dr Stuart Smith, from the University's School of Medicine and NUH, added: "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.
"Patients find waiting many weeks for results extremely difficult and this adds to the anxiety and worry at what is already a very difficult time."
He said the test was so rapid that it could even help surgeons during any operation to assist with their "surgical strategy".
Dr Simon Paine, a consultant neuropathologist at NUH, added: "This new method of diagnosing brain tumours is going to be a game changer, it really is revolutionary.
"It not only increases the speed at which the results will be available, but the degree of accuracy of the diagnosis as well is incredible."
Commenting, Dr Simon Newman from The Brain Tumour Charity, said: "The delivery of an accurate diagnosis within hours of surgery will be transformative for all patients ensuring rapid access to the optimal standard of care and - crucially - removing the uncertainty patients face when having to wait weeks for their diagnosis and prognosis.
"The potential to combine so many separate tests into one and deliver at a localised level is a game changer for driving equity of access to rapid and accurate molecular diagnosis."
The most common symptoms of a brain tumour
More than 12,000 Brits are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour every year — of which around half are cancerous — with 5,300 losing their lives.
The disease is the most deadly cancer in children and adults aged under 40, according to the Brain Tumour Charity.
Brain tumours reduce life expectancies by an average of 27 years, with just 12 per cent of adults surviving five years after diagnosis.
There are two main types, with non-cancerous benign tumours growing more slowly and being less likely to return after treatment.
Cancerous malignant brain tumours can either start in the brain or spread there from elsewhere in the body and are more likely to return.
Brain tumours can cause headaches, seizures, nausea, vomiting and memory problems, according to the NHS.
They can also lead to changes in personality weakness or paralysis on one side of the problem and problems with speech or vision.
The nine most common symptoms are:
Headaches
Seizures
Feeling sick
Being sick
Memory problems
Change in personality
Weakness or paralysis on one side of the body
Vision problems
Speech problems
If you are suffering any of these symptoms, particularly a headache that feels different from the ones you normally get, you should visit your GP.
Source: NHS