Premiere: Blood test to detect brain tumors

Science and medicine give a chance at life to people facing serious conditions. Surgeons and scientists have developed a world-first blood test for brain cancer, which experts say could revolutionize diagnosis, speed up treatment and increase survival rates. For years, brain tumors were difficult to diagnose. They affect hundreds of thousands of people worldwide each year and kill more children and adults under 40 in the UK than any other type of cancer. Now, a team of researchers has devised a simple blood test that could help diagnose patients suffering from even the deadliest forms of brain cancer much faster, avoiding invasive and high-risk surgical biopsies. The discovery was announced in the International Journal of Cancer.

Experts said the inexpensive liquid biopsy could also lead to earlier diagnosis, which in turn would speed up treatment and increase survival rates. The test would be particularly beneficial for patients with "inaccessible" brain tumors who could benefit from starting treatment as soon as possible, they added. Researchers at the Center of Excellence for Brain Tumor Research, led by Imperial College London and Imperial College healthcare NHS trust, found that the test can accurately diagnose a range of brain tumours, including glioblastoma (GBM), the most commonly diagnosed type of tumour. high-grade brain tumors in adults, astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas. The test had "high sensitivity, specificity and analytical precision," the team reported. "This ground-breaking research could lead to faster diagnosis and improved outcomes for brain tumor patients," said Dan Knowles, chief executive of the charity Brain Tumor Research. Scientists are already planning further studies to validate the results, and if they are successful, patients could benefit from the new test in just two years. The TriNetra-Glio blood test, developed with funds from Datar Cancer Genetics, works by isolating glial cells that have broken off from the tumor and are circulating in the blood. The isolated cells are then stained and can be identified under a microscope. Dr Nelofer Syed, who leads the Center of Excellence for Brain Tumor Research, said: "A non-invasive and inexpensive method for early detection of brain tumors is essential to improve patient care. There is still a way to go, but this solution could help people when a brain biopsy or surgical resection of the tumor is not possible due to tumor location or other constraints."

Kevin O'Neill, consultant neurosurgeon at Imperial College healthcare NHS trust and honorary senior clinical lecturer at Imperial College London, who runs the Center of Excellence for Brain Tumor Research with Syed, says this test is not just an indicator of disease, but a biopsy. liquidate.