A groundbreaking device that can diagnose cancer in just 20 minutes is being developed by British scientists.

The world's first tumour profiler, as it is known, will allow doctors, nurses and pharmacists to quickly identify all known types of cancer while the patient waits.

It is hoped the device, which will also gauge the correct drug to
prescribe cancer sufferers, will be used across the NHS within the next three years.The device has been invented as part of a partnership between private firm QuantuMDx, Newcastle University and Sheffield University.

Scientists say the Q-Cancer device will have a dramatic impact on the rapid and accurate diagnosis of cancer. Company officials said the device has the potential to prolong the lives of the 12 million newly diagnosed cancer sufferers around the world.

It will enable surgeons to immediately remove most, if not all of the tumour, and allow cancer specialists to prescribe the correct treatment regime according to the type of cancer developed.

The device makes use of advanced nanotechnology, analysing submicroscopic amounts of tissue to work out the type of cancer, its genetic make-up and how far it has developed.Professor Sir John Burn, the Newcastle University academic who is also medical director of QuantuMDx, said: 'We have a world leading position to deliver complex DNA tumour testing to the routine pathology lab or even to the operating theatre.

'A low-cost device requiring no technical expertise will extract, amplify and analyse tumour DNA to make sure the patient gets the right treatment first time and without delay.'

Chief executive Elaine Warburton said: 'Currently tumour samples are sent away to a centralised sequencing laboratory, which can take several weeks to turnaround results, usually at a very high price which is not routinely affordable to many economies.

'As far as we are aware, QuantuMDx’s current underlying technologies, which can break up a sample and extract the DNA in under five minutes represents a world first for complex molecular diagnostics.

Cancer experts now believe that 42 per cent of Britons will get the disease in their lifetime.

Of the 585,000 people who died in the UK in 2008, 246,000 had been diagnosed with cancer at some point.

Dr Emma Smith, Cancer Research UK’s senior science information officer, said: 'Using lhe latest technology to analyse tumours quickly and cheaply could make a real difference to cancer patients and we will watch these developments with interest. It will need thorough testing to show it meets the standards required for routine use in the NHS.'

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