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 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”.