Pathology Accelerator
All cancers are caused by genomic damage within cells. The analysis of this genomic damage can give more precise diagnosis, information about prognosis and information about what treatments may or may not be helpful.
Project Overview
The Pathology Accelerator project was set up to look at pathways and processes within the cellular pathology labs to improve the ways in which tumour samples for solid cancers are processed and used for diagnosis.
The aim was to maximise opportunities for genomic testing, optimise turnaround times and ensure a consistently high quality service across the NHS Genomic Medicine Service.
Achievements
A number of national workshops were held to look at different elements of the pathways and develop, share and embed best practice within cellular pathology services.
This led to the development of Cellular Pathology Genomic Centres (CPGC) which are pathology centres dedicated to the optimisation and maximisation of tissue-based predictive immunohistochemistry assessment and sample preparation for genomic testing.
Legacy
It is anticipated that there will be a CPGC in each of the four Cancer Alliance geographies within the North East and Yorkshire. These centres will also maximise research opportunities including the development of cancer vaccines based on the genomic profile of tumours.
Contact us to learn more.
Clinical Lead:
Dr. Jackie Cook, NEY GMS Clinical Director (Rare Disease) – view Jackie’s Bio here
We interviewed Jackie in Series One of our Road to Genome Podcast.