NHS genomics lab launches to improve cancer patient care

Summarised from 2 outlets · 4 reports · Updated 15 Oct, 11:32 · Archive

A new NHS laboratory in the UK has launched to deliver personalised cancer diagnostics using artificial intelligence.

The Royal Marsden Centre for Cancer Genomics has launched in the UK as a world-leading facility designed to improve personalised testing and treatment for cancer patients. The centre is the first of its kind to deliver composite biomarker testing, a new generation of cancer diagnostics that combines information about a patient and their tumour with artificial intelligence to build a complete picture of their condition.

The findings from this approach will help doctors ensure NHS patients can access clinical trials, receive more personalised treatments, and have flexible treatment plans that adapt as their cancer develops. Professor Michael Hubank, scientific director of clinical genomics at the Royal Marsden and professor of translational genomics at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, explained the shift in approach. Currently, NHS workflows focus on a single test leading to a single action, he said, but the future lies in taking multiple measurements from patients during treatment.

"You'll have a diagnostic – a composite biomarker – where you'll be measuring maybe DNA, RNA, maybe protein… and AI will integrate that information to create a score which is very specific and tells doctors where that patient sits on a spectrum of how to treat them and what therapies to give them in the first place," Hubank told the Press Association. The centre will work with doctors and patients across the UK.

How it is being reported

• World-leading NHS genomics lab launches to improve care for cancer patientsNew testing combines data about a patient and their tumour with artificial intelligence (AI) to build the fullest picture of a person’s cancer.Evening Standard · 15 Oct, 12:32
• New world first lab uses AI to set personalised treatment for cancer patientsClinical trials have already shown positive results in using these circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) blood tests to monitor patientsThe Independent · 15 Oct, 11:08
• World-leading genomics lab launches in London to improve care for NHS cancer patientsThe centre is the first of its kind to deliver a new generation of cancer diagnostics known as composite biomarker testingEvening Standard · 15 Oct, 00:02
• World-leading NHS genomics lab launches to improve care for cancer patientsNew testing combines data about a patient and their tumour with artificial intelligence (AI) to build the fullest picture of a person’s cancer.Evening Standard · 15 Oct, 00:01

In this story: Royal Marsden Centre for Cancer Genomics · Royal Marsden · Institute of Cancer Research, London · Michael Hubank · NHS · UK

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