Research breakthrough could spare brain cancer patients risky surgery

Mr Kevin O'Neill - A simple blood test could help diagnose patients with the deadliest form of brain cancer, sparing them from undergoing invasive, highly-risky surgery. In a world-first, the new technique has been proven for glial tumours including glioblastoma (GBM), the most commonly-diagnosed type of high-grade brain tumour in adults. The clinical validation study, published recently in the International Journal of Cancer , involved patients with brain cancer treated at the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence run by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Imperial's Dr Nelofer Syed ( Department of Brain Sciences ), who leads the Centre, said: "A non-invasive, inexpensive method for the early detection of brain tumours is critical for improvements in patient care. "Through this technology, a diagnosis of inaccessible tumours can become possible through a risk-free and patient-friendly blood test. We believe this would be a world-first as there are currently no non-invasive or non-radiological tests for these types of tumours." - Steve Ackroyd with wife Fran and daughter Autumn - Kevin O'Neill, consultant neurosurgeon at Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust and honorary clinical senior lecturer at Imperial's Department of Brain Sciences , co-leads the Centre. He added: "This could help speed up diagnosis, enabling surgeons to apply tailored treatments based on that biopsy to increase patients' chances of survival.