Children with cancer could get easier access to personalized medicines in UK

Children diagnosed with some of the most aggressive cancers could be able to access more personalized medicines under a new initiative being rolled out in the UK.

Around 400 children with solid tumors across 21 of the UK’s hospitals are to be offered testing for genetic mutations in their tumors, as part a joint initiative between The Institute of Cancer Research, the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and UK cancer charity Christopher’s Smile.

The testing program is the first stage of a wider aim to eventually test all children with solid tumors in the UK and direct them into clinical trials targeting particular mutations within their tumors.