Scots waiting on access to revolutionary cancer test

SCOTS will have to wait to see if they will be given access to a “revolutionary” cancer blood test that is being rolled out on the NHS in England.

- By Hannah Geissler and John Glover

The new “liquid biopsy” searches for tiny fragments of DNA that are shed by tumours into the bloodstream. It can deliver a specific diagnosis up to two weeks earlier than usual tissue biopsy methods, allowing doctors to select targeted therapy faster and spare patients unnecessary procedures and treatment.

Speaking on the eve of the world’s largest cancer conference in Chicago, NHS England’s national clinical director for cancer Professor Peter Johnson hailed a “new era of personalised cancer care”. Liquid biopsies could eventually be harnessed to “scan the body” and spot developing cancer with a single blood sample, he said.

After successful pilots, the test will be rolled out to all hospitals in England for up to 15,000 patients with suspected non-small cell lung cancer each year.