Some cancer patients in the UK are to be offered liquid biopsy-based testing to match them to personalized treatments, the Guardian reports.
It adds that the approach was first tested by the Christie NHS foundation trust in Manchester where patients were matched to clinical trials examining personalized cancer treatments. Researchers found that patients in the trial were more likely to see their tumors shrink, the Guardian adds.
The program, called Target National, is now being rolled out across the UK to include solid tumor cancer patients who have exhausted all other therapeutic avenues, it says. Thousands of patients at 18 different centers in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are to be offered testing.
"We can't guarantee that we will find a fault in the genetic code of every cancer patient we recruit, or that if we do, there will be a suitable drug trial for them," the Christie's Matthew Krebs, who is leading the trial, tells the Guardian. "However, as we learn more about the genetics of cancer in this study, it will help doctors and scientists develop new treatments to help people in the future."