'Game-changing' cancer service approved for rollout

Last year, Laraine Chung discovered she had a tumour behind her left eye.

Tests failed to identify its type so she faced losing her eye through complex surgery which could also affect her brain and face.

But the 63-year-old carer from Peterborough had an option that many cancer patients in her position currently do not. She had Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, which changed her outcome.

By analysing a patient's DNA, WGS is able to identify the types and causes of cancers and other genetic diseases - in Chung's case, a benign meningioma requiring less extensive surgery - and provide vital information to direct doctors to the best treatments.

"Without the test, I would have needed much more complex surgery, and it would have taken even more time to recover," the grandmother-of-four said.

"Getting the genetic results made everything clear. It was a long, anxious wait for the results but it was a huge relief for me and my family when they rang to say they knew what it was and that I wouldn't lose my eye."

WGS is available on the NHS, for all children with cancer (up to age 25) and adults with certain cancers including those with advanced ovarian cancers, triple negative breast cancers, some sarcomas and blood cancers, as well as cancers of unknown origin.

However, some patients currently cannot access it, because of the practicalities of transporting samples to regional testing labs, such as the one at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH).

When a biopsy is taken, the genetic material in the tissue degrades within hours, unless it is protected. Freezing the sample preserves it, but not all clinical facilities are able to do that.

Now a new technique, pioneered at Addenbrooke's Hospital, enables the sample to be preserved in a stabilising solution and transported at room temperature instead.

'Vital to remove barriers'

Launched across the East of England at the end of 2025, the change makes it easier for patients at hospitals such as Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn, Peterborough City Hospital and Ipswich Hospital to benefit from testing.

Dr Jeffrey Rubasingham, a consultant clinical oncologist, was one of the first to use the new approach at the hospital in King's Lynn.

"This is truly game-changing for our patients and for clinical practice," he said.

"It removes the need for minus 80C sample freezing and specialised transport, and opens the door to cutting-edge trial therapies when standard treatment options have been exhausted."

The process is now nationally accredited, and is expected to be rolled out in other regions across England.

Dr John Tadross, a consultant molecular pathologist at CUH, who pioneered the change, said: "Whole genome sequencing can make a huge difference to a person's cancer journey, and it's vital that we remove barriers to testing so as many people as possible can benefit.

"Our teams have worked closely together to deliver this change, which will improve diagnosis and treatment for many more people."

Dr Tadross and colleagues were presented with the Royal College of Pathologists Achievement Award 2026 for Sustainability at a ceremony in London last night in recognition of the environmental benefits of transporting samples without the need for freezing.

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