Experts are so delighted with the findings of a new study into the genetic test 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 tests and offers more benefits than all of them combined, according to researchers at Great Ormond Street Hospital, the University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Hospitals and the Wellcome Sanger Institute. It works by providing a readout of the entire genetic code of a patient’s tumour and identifies every single cancer-causing mutation.
By pinpointing these genetic mutations, whole genome sequencing 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. In comparison, standard tests only look at tiny regions of the cancer genome, meaning children often have to undergo multiple tests.
Dr Jack Bartram, senior author from Great Ormond Street and the North Thames Genomic Medicine Service, told the PA news agency this is the first time the test has been studied in real-time and offered to any child with suspected cancer who walks through the door. He said the test gives “all of the information up front in a very short space of time”, with results back in as little as 10 days. Whole genome sequencing could prevent children needing repeat biopsies or any of the 738 standard-of-car.
