NHS leads world with genetic test to speed up children's cancer care

A CUTTING edge test dramatically improves the care of children with cancer and could replace hundreds of other tests, an NHS trial found.

- Jane Kirby

Experts are so delighted with the study into the genetic method they believe it could benefit 1,000 children a year in England alone.

The test, known as whole genome sequencing and available on the NHS, is quicker at giving results than standard ways.

And it offers more benefits than all of them combined, say researchers at Great Ormond Street Hospital, the University of Cambridge and the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

It provides a readout of the entire genetic code of a tumour and spots every cancer-causing mutation.

This enables medics to personalise treatments for patients and work out the chance of cancer coming back. It can also establish whether cancer runs in families and if siblings are at higher risk.