Latest news with #NeuroOncology
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
South West brain cancer network becomes Centre of Excellence
A network of health professionals in south-west England that specialises in brain tumours has been recognised for its high standard of Plymouth and the Peninsula Neuro-Oncology Network, which includes NHS trusts across Devon and Cornwall, is one of 14 new Tessa Jowell Centres of Labour cabinet member Dame Tessa died in 2018 after she was diagnosed with brain cancer, and the Centre for Excellence was established in her name two years Plymouth and Peninsula network has been selected for the steps it has been making in research, rehabilitation and commitment to growing its team, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. £40m funding available The network includes University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Trust and Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Prof of neurosurgery at University Hospitals Plymouth, Dr Ellie Edlmann, told an NHS Trust board meeting on Wednesday that £40m of investment was available to Tessa Jowell centres and she wanted some of that for Edlmann said more genetic testing would enable the centre to learn more about diagnoses and improve the eligibility of patients for drug organisations that are awarded Centre for Excellence status have to reapply every four years.
Medscape
22-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
New Genetic Test Could Diagnose Brain Tumours in 2 Hours
Researchers at the University of Nottingham have developed a new genetic test that can diagnose brain tumours in as little as 2 hours The test, called ROBIN, uses PromethION nanopore sequencing to deliver rapid methylome classification. The researchers said results could be available intraoperatively, allowing clinicians to make faster, more informed decisions. The same assay can also be used for next-day molecular profiling, including detection of single nucleotide, copy number, and structural variants. DNA methylation-based classification is now essential for diagnosing and managing many brain tumour subtypes. Current diagnostic methods rely on additional microarray-based assays to detect pathognomonic somatic mutations and structural variants. These steps often delay final diagnosis. Delays Cause Distress and Postpone Treatment Due to the high capital costs, current analytic tests are restricted to specialist tertiary care centres with high throughput, requiring samples to be sent across regions. Tests are sent to centralised facilities, meaning that clinicians have to wait six to eight weeks or longer before they receive full results. This delay can cause significant anxiety for patients and postpone the start of treatment. New Test Offers 2-Hour Turnaround In a study published in Neuro-Oncology , the Nottingham team of scientists and medics tested ROBIN's classifier performance on 50 prospective intraoperative cases. ROBIN, a software tool based on the P2 PromethION nanopore sequencers The test achieved a diagnostic turnaround time under 2 hours. Tumour classification began within minutes of sequencing. It was able to detect single nucleotide variants, copy number variants, and structural variants in real time. In many cases, methylation classification and identification were achieved within a few hours of sequencing. In 90% of classifiable cases, the test provided a complete integrated diagnosis within 24 hours. Its classifications matched the final diagnosis in 90% of cases. ROBIN was able to provide a full integrated diagnosis, with a mean turnaround time of 24 hours for the ultra-fast pipeline. Classifier performance demonstrated concordance with the final integrated diagnosis in 90% of prospective cases. Researchers say nanopore sequencing can improve diagnostic turnaround and offer reliable, clinically actionable intraoperative classification. The test also requires minimal tissue, enabling diagnosis from small samples, such as those obtained via stereotactic biopsy. "Revolutionary" Speed and Accuracy Study co-author Dr Simon Paine, consultant neuropathologist at Nottingham University Hospital, noted both the speed and accuracy of the test. "It really is revolutionary," he said in a press release. According to Cancer Research UK, about 12,700 people are diagnosed with brain tumours annually in the UK. More than 5000 die each year Incidence has increased by 24% since the early 2000s. Ten-year survival remains low, at just 11%. The Nottingham team believes that ROBIN could significantly improve care for thousands of UK patients each year. The researchers hope to see the test adopted across NHS trusts. However, they stressed that clinical trials are needed to confirm its utility in routine practice. The BRAIN MATRIX trial, funded by The Brain Tumour Charity, will assess how ROBIN can help match patients to personalised clinical trials. Dr Simon Newman, chief scientific officer at the charity, said in a press release that rapid diagnosis could reduce uncertainty for patients and speed up access to care. 'The potential to combine so many separate tests into one and deliver at a local level is a game changer,' he said.
South China Morning Post
22-05-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Brain tumours diagnosed in 2 hours, down from 2 months, using new DNA-based test
Scientists have developed an 'ultra-fast' test which can slash the time patients have to wait to find out which type of brain tumour they have. Patients usually wait six to eight weeks to find out their type of brain tumour. 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. This means patients can start treatment faster, and the test may even help surgical teams while they are operating to remove tumours, they said. Researchers from the UK's University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust assessed the new test on 50 patients. The new brain tumour test is a 'game changer', allowing suitable treatment to start almost immediately. Photo: Shutterstock The research team, which publishing their findings in the medical journal Neuro-Oncology, said the new test was 'in concordance with standard of care' for '90 per cent of cases'.
The Sun
21-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Breakthrough ultra-rapid test that can diagnose brain tumours in just two hours could be rolled out on NHS in a year
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. 1 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
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Brain tumour diagnosis could be made within hours, say researchers
A new method for diagnosing brain tumours could cut the time patients wait for treatments by weeks to hours and raise the possibility of novel types of therapy, researchers have said. According to the Brain Tumour Charity, about 740,000 people around the world are diagnosed with a brain tumour each year, around half of which are non-cancerous. Once a brain tumour is found, a sample is taken during surgery and cells are immediately studied under a microscope by pathologists, who can often identify the type of tumour. However, genetic testing helps to make or confirm the diagnosis. 'Almost all of the samples will go for further testing anyway. But for some of them it will be absolutely crucial, because you won't know what you're looking at,' said Prof Matthew Loose, a co-author of the research from the University of Nottingham. Loose noted that in the UK there could be a lag of eight weeks or longer between surgery and the full results of genetic tests, delaying the confirmation of a diagnosis and hence treatment such as chemotherapy. Writing in the journal Neuro-Oncology, Loose and colleagues report how they harnessed what is known as nanopore technology to cut this timeframe. The approach is based on devices that contain membranes featuring hundreds to thousands of tiny pores, each of which has an electric current passing through it. When DNA approaches a pore it is 'unzipped' into single strands; as a strand passes through the pore it disrupts the electric current. Crucially, the different building blocks of DNA – and modifications to them – disrupt the current in characteristic ways, allowing the DNA to be 'read', or sequenced. These sequences are then compared against those relating to different types of brain tumours, using a software program built by the team. Loose said the process costs about £400 per sample – on a par with current genetic testing. The researchers first trialled the approach on 30 samples that had previously been extracted from patients, before using it on 50 samples at the time they were removed. They said 24 (80%) and 45 (90%) of these samples respectively were fully and correctly classified by the new approach after 24 hours, a success rate on a par with traditional genetic testing methods. However, 38 (76%) of the 50 samples that were prospectively collected were confidently classified within one hour, meaning the time from sample removal to surgeons having the results could be as little as two hours. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion While Loose said the main goal was to make sure the information is available when the patient is next discussed by their medical team, typically in the same week, he said the rapid results could also reveal whether more aggressive surgery is needed while the patient is already in theatre, or if surgery is likely to offer little benefit. And there are other possibilities. 'If you could identify, as we think we might be able to, the specific tumour type fast enough, and drugs were available that could be administered during surgery directly to the tumour area, then you have opened up a whole new class of potential treatment options,' he said. In addition, he said, rapid diagnoses could help ensure patients are recruited into relevant clinical trials for new treatments as quickly as possible. Dr Matt Williams, a consultant oncologist at Imperial College healthcare NHS trust, who was not involved in the work, said while faster diagnoses were welcome and reduced the period of uncertainty for patients, the main question was how the new technology could be used to change care. 'At the moment [intra-operative treatments] don't really exist, although several groups are working on it ,' he said. 'But if [we] want to unlock these approaches, we need to be able to make those diagnoses in the operating theatre to then be able to deploy these treatments.'
