In a major step forward for lung cancer care, the NHS has become the first healthcare system globally to implement a “blood test-first” approach for diagnosing and treating suspected lung cancer cases.
This breakthrough initiative is set to benefit tens of thousands of patients annually by delivering faster, more accurate, and less invasive cancer care.
At the heart of this innovation is a liquid biopsy — a cutting-edge blood test that identifies fragments of tumour DNA circulating in the bloodstream. This test enables clinicians to detect genetic mutations specific to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and quickly determine whether patients are eligible for targeted therapies.
Data from an NHS pilot involving 176 hospitals has already shown that patients can begin personalised treatment up to 16 days earlier when using a liquid biopsy compared to traditional tissue sampling. Importantly, this method can also spare patients from the discomfort and risks of additional biopsies or unnecessary chemotherapy.
Following the success of the pilot, NHS England announced that up to 15,000 lung cancer patients a year could now benefit from liquid biopsy testing. The test is available in NHS hospitals across the country, with over 1,600 suspected lung cancer patients already tested since April.
This expansion is a milestone for people with lung cancer, which remains one of the deadliest cancers in the UK, with over 49,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS National Clinical Director for Cancer, described the development as ushering in “a new era of personalised cancer care,” emphasising the value of targeted treatments enabled by genomic testing, whilst Professor Sanjay Popat, Clinical Co-Lead of the NHS lung cancer ctDNA pilot, highlighted how the new approach helps “patients start the best treatment sooner,” describing it as a transformative leap forward.
Paula Chadwick, chief executive of Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said: “This is a tremendous step forward in the treatment of lung cancer.
“When it comes to lung cancer, time is of the essence so the sooner a person is diagnosed and starts treatment the better – not only physically but mentally too. Knowing you have lung cancer but then forced to endure a lengthy wait for test results before starting treatment is incredibly traumatic, so we are highly encouraged by the results from the NHS pilot.”
“We have seen an influx of new, targeted treatments for lung cancer in recent years. However, accessing these new therapies isn’t always straightforward. This latest advancement will hopefully alleviate the barriers patients can encounter, as well as sparing them from invasive tests and procedures.”
The NHS Genomic Medicine Service is leading this national rollout, and the implications for the future of lung cancer care are significant. While tissue biopsies remain a key part of diagnosis, the speed and accuracy of liquid biopsies offer an invaluable complement—especially when tissue is hard to obtain.
As the NHS explores the use of this technology in other cancers, lung cancer patients across England are already experiencing the benefits of faster diagnosis, tailored treatment, and a more hopeful outlook.