Rapid Genetic Test Aims to Shorten Brain Tumor Diagnosis Time

Brain tumors can be highly aggressive and difficult to treat, and The Brain Tumour Charity describes them as the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40. With more than 100 recognized tumor types, accurate classification is critical for guiding treatment decisions. New findings now show that an ultra-rapid genetic test could reduce the time needed for diagnosis from weeks to just hours.

Newcastle University, working with Newcastle Hospitals, is one of five specialist centers in a new U.K. network of excellence evaluating the brain tumor test. The approach uses nanopore genetic sequencing and software known as ROBIN to analyze tumor DNA. Scientists and doctors will act as early adopters while gathering further evidence on the test’s effectiveness in adults and children with brain tumors.

The two-year project will assess whether the rapid test is suitable for wider NHS use. It will examine whether the approach benefits patients, provides clinicians with useful information, and works reliably in health care settings. The Newcastle team includes specialists in genetics, tissue-based disease diagnosis, cancer, and neurology.

Current diagnostic workflows require tumor samples taken during surgery to be sent to specialist laboratories for detailed analysis. Although highly accurate, this process can take several weeks to confirm the exact tumor type. The new single-test approach is intended to generate results much faster than traditional methods and could provide a more complete diagnostic profile within days.

The project follows an initial Newcastle Hospitals Charity-funded project that used the test on 40 different types of brain tumors from children, young people, and adults across the northeast. The team’s longer-term aspiration is to obtain a provisional result while the patient is still in surgery. The work is intended to build on findings already demonstrated through a national pilot program.

“This is really exciting. The test could revolutionize brain tumor diagnosis. At the moment we carry out different genetic tests which can take a few weeks to provide a complete set of results. This new single test could give us all the information that we require for brain tumor diagnosis within days,” said Angharad Goodman, clinical scientist at the Newcastle Genetics Laboratory.

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