An innovative pilot project, commissioned by NHS England and co-led by the Genomic Medicine Services in NEY and North Thames, has been shortlisted for a HSJ Award in the Modernising Diagnostics category.
A World First
The pilot study aims to evaluate how liquid biopsy testing can be brought into an established NHS cancer pathway – supporting faster diagnosis and targeted treatment options for patients with lung cancer. Whilst this type of genetic testing, involving a liquid biopsy to sequence circulating tumour DNA (or ctDNA) in the blood stream, uses established technology, currently no national healthcare services offer ctDNA in mainstream testing, making this a world first.
Over 2000 patients accessed the test during the early stages of the pilot, this has now been expanded to offer a further 10,000 tests in 2024/25.
Personalising Treatment for Better Outcomes
Professor Alastair Greystoke, Clinical Director of the NEY GMS (Cancer) and co-clinical lead for the pilot said, “I’m delighted that this project has been recognised nationally and I’m thrilled for the whole team involved in its delivery. It is fantastic that through national collaborations across the Genomic Medicine Service, we can bring cutting edge genomic testing to patients in the NHS.
Working closely with our Cancer Alliances, we have made rapid progress in evaluating the clinical effectiveness of the liquid biopsy in cancer care across our region – using a blood sample rather than a tissue biopsy to understand the genomics of the tumour, enabling us to personalise treatment for individual patients with lung cancer and achieve better outcomes.”