Researchers hope the test could soon be used in routine care (Image: Getty)
A analysis test can better predict patients’ survival chances at the point of diagnosis, a study suggests.
While current methods for sampling typically capture less than 1% of the tumour, the new ORACLE test looks at genes expressed in every part.
Researchers analysed samples from 158 patients enrolled in the Cancer Research UK-funded TRACERx study.
The test was better able to predict lung cancer survival at the point of diagnosis for patients with early stage disease than current methods.
Experts said this could help doctors identify patients with a lower chance of survival who may benefit from being given chemotherapy as well as surgery.
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The study’s chief investigator Professor Charles Swanton, of the Francis Crick Institute, the UCL Cancer Institute and UCLH, said: “Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death throughout the world, so it’s clear we need better markers to accurately classify tumours and predict who is at high risk.
“We’re now working with the Translation team at the Crick and industry partners to progress ORACLE into a test which could hopefully be used in the clinic as soon as possible.”
Patients with a high ORACLE risk score were also more likely to see their cancer spread to another part of the body.
And when researchers looked at 359 cancer , they found a high score predicted a better response to some types of chemotherapy, particularly platinum drugs like cisplatin.
Study co-author Dhruva Biswas, a translation fellow at the Crick and postdoctoral fellow at the UCL Cancer Institute, said: “ORACLE can now predict survival rates in patients diagnosed at the earliest stage.
“If validated in larger cohorts of patients with lung cancer, doctors could one day use ORACLE to help make informed treatment decisions, bringing lessons from cancer evolution into the clinic.”
Paul Mercer, head of industry partnerships in the Crick Translation team, said: “This is an important step forward, translating our understanding of the infinite complexities of lung cancer mutation into a diagnostic tool, prioritising patients for the most effective therapies.
“We look forward to working with partners to take this work forward and maximise patient benefit from ORACLE.” The findings were published in the journal Nature Cancer.