Womb cancer trial for surgical iKnife that can ‘smell’ tumours

Researchers are investigating whether a pioneering surgical knife that “smells” tumours can provide an on-the-spot diagnosis of womb cancer.

A team at Imperial College London is testing the iKnife, which is already used to treat brain and breast cancers, to see if it can also accurately detect the presence of endometrial cancer.

Its effectiveness will be examined using biopsy tissue samples from 150 women who fear they have womb cancer, and the results compared with the “official” pathology findings.

If the iKnife’s accuracy is confirmed, a clinical trial could be launched within two years — and its use could become more widespread within five.

Womb cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women and affects 9,300 a year in the UK, many of them pre-menopausal. Professor Sadaf Ghaem-Maghami, whose research is funded by The Eve Appeal charity, said immediate diagnosis would enable women requiring treatment to have it started as soon as possible. Only about 10 per cent who undergo a biopsy are found to have womb cancer.

Professor Ghaem-Maghami said: “Being referred for diagnostic tests for endometrial cancer is a very stressful time for any woman. Being able to get rid of the agonising wait of at least two weeks will provide a huge relief for thousands of women each year.”

Criminal barrister Rachel Haworth, who was diagnosed with womb cancer aged 30, said: “This research is fantastic, because womb cancer is often so hard to detect. This technology reduces that agonising waiting period and means if you are told the devastating news you have cancer you can get onto treatment right away.” Ms Haworth and City trader husband Matt, who live in Muswell Hill, were able to become parents via surrogacy after her treatment. They have twin boys aged four. Ms Haworth, now 36, first contacted a GP after struggling to get pregnant. He was “very dismissive” and told her she was “probably a bit stressed, probably a bit slim”.

It was only when she saw a second GP, who ordered blood tests and referred her to the Royal Free hospital, Hampstead, for a hysteroscopy and biopsy, that womb cancer was diagnosed. “No-one assumes a woman of 30 is going to have womb cancer,” she said. “Once it had been picked up we were able to knock it on the head quite quickly. I had a hysterectomy and managed to keep my ovaries. I have regular check-ups but, touch wood, I’m as good as cured as I can be.”

The iKnife, which uses electrical currents to cut out tumours, differentiates between cancerous and healthy tissue by analysing the smoke that is emitted when tissue is vaporised.

In the research, the iKnife will “burn” the biopsy tissue once it has been removed from the womb. Athena Lamnisos, Eve Appeal chief executive, said the study could “make a huge difference to the next generation of women diagnosed with womb cancer”.