A new milestone has been reached in Bio-Technology, with new brain tumour tests developed by Oxford Nanopore
aiming to cut waiting times for life-changing surgeries by up to eight weeks. The technology is being piloted at five
specialist centres across the UK, and could prove to be a groundbreaking development in the path to saving lives from
brain cancer.
There are around 150 different types of brain tumour, each with varying responses to treatments. While some are safe
to remove, others can be debilitatingly dangerous. Brain cancer is the biggest cancer killer of adults and children under
40, with over 12,000 people being diagnosed with brain cancer per year, making it crucial that neuropathologists are able to classify brain tumours quickly and accurately.
The Oxford Nanopore technology can reduce this classification process to as little as two hours, in some cases making
it possible for neurosurgeons to make informed decisions while operating. This is very important when surgical approaches differ based on the type of tumour. Consultant neurosurgeon Stuart Smith states surgeries on curable tumours must be “as radical as possible,” while for more aggressive tumours methods must be “more cautious in order to lower the risk of causing damage to the brain.”
While there are many different standard ways of classifying brain tumours, they all involve taking a biopsy (a tissue
sample), and observing or testing the DNA for different properties of tumours — around four different tests are standard
for tumour classification. This analysis often requires a neuropathologist to look at the sample under a microscope.
The Nanopore tech bypasses this time-consuming process by passing the DNA through a motor into a nanopore.
When it passes through, the changes in the electrical current can be interpreted directly, and in real time, into a genomic
fingerprint, telling us which type of cancer the sample holds. Dr Simon Paine, a consultant neurosurgeon at the University of Nottingham, comments on the difference between visual assessment and the nanopore: “I’m crystal ball gazing and can do it reasonably well on a good day, but nowhere near with the clarity of the nanopore, which gives a comprehensive molecular classification.”
The development of this technology was in large part due to the research and efforts of the scientists at the University of Nottingham, who are internationally recognised for their cancer research and genetic studies. This significant milestone in Bio-Tech will now be rolled out in centres across the UK such as King’s College Hospital, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and more. A testament must also be made to the NHS for their collaboration with this pilot rollout; as said by the NHS medical
director Prof Frankie Swords, the pilot scheme is a “world first,” with “no other health service” rolling out the technology to multiple hospitals. The future bodes well, with expectations to extend this rollout to Oxford, Manchester, Bristol and Leeds. Longer term goals aim to streamline the technology into NHS standard practice, speeding up treatments and clinical trials all across the UK.
Photo by Keith Tanner on Unsplash
