Brain tumour diagnosis in 24 hours: Birmingham helps lead rollout

Patients with brain tumours could get a diagnosis within 24 hours, and sometimes while they are still in the operating theatre, under a new NHS programme that Birmingham is helping to lead.

At the moment, patients wait an average of 26 days for a precise diagnosis. Their scans are reviewed, a tissue sample is taken during surgery, and the sample then spends weeks being analysed in a laboratory.

How the new test works

The new approach uses rapid genomic testing, which reads the genetic code of the tumour to identify exactly what type it is. There are more than 100 types of brain tumour, and knowing which one a patient has can change how surgeons operate and what treatment follows.

NHS England is funding the work with 2.1 million pounds for a two-year pilot. In the first phase, the testing will be offered at University Hospitals Birmingham, Nottingham University Hospitals, Great Ormond Street Hospital, King's College Hospital and Newcastle Hospitals. Bristol, Oxford, Leeds and Manchester will follow in a second phase.

"An absolute game-changer"

Dr Victoria Wykes, an honorary consultant neurosurgeon at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and clinical lead of the Network of Excellence for Rapid Diagnosis in Brain Tumours, said: "Achieving a rapid diagnosis of brain tumours represents an absolute game-changer for patients."

She said it would allow surgeons to "tailor the surgery according to tumour type while the patient is still in theatre".

A patient's view

Shalina, 45, from Birmingham, waited six weeks for her diagnosis. "Any reduction in time to diagnose means steps can be taken sooner to give them the very best chance of recovery," she said.

Birmingham's role

Dr Wykes is also an associate clinical professor of neurosurgery at the University of Birmingham, and the city's hospitals and university have a long record of research into brain tumours and genomic medicine. The Queen Elizabeth is a major neurosurgery centre for the region.