All children with cancer to undergo DNA sequencing

SCIENCE EDITOR EVERY child with cancer in Britain will have their tumour DNA sequenced so they can get the best possible drugs and help the UK catch up with treatment in Europe and the US.

The charity Children with Cancer UK has announced £1.5million in funding so that from today youngsters can be screened and given treatment which is far more effective and less toxic.

Sequencing tumour DNA allows doctors to match drugs specifically to the genetic code of cancer, which could mean some children would be spared chemotherapy if it was found to be ineffective for their disease.

Similarly, if their cancer was found to be driven by a particular gene, drugs which target the specific problem could be given.

Hospital consultants will offer every child a biopsy and the samples will be sent off to Institute of Cancer research for testing.

Prof Louis Chesler, of The Institute of Cancer Research, who is leading the initiative said: “Integration of modern technologies to cancer treatment is very important because it maximises