Latest News on cancer and Covid-19 testing
COVID vaccination, PCR testing and variant sequencing: The key to safe cross-border travel
With many people ditching staycations for trips overseas, the risk of traveller related introduction of high-risk COVID19 variants into the UK is a major issue surrounding European and international holiday travel. The UK government day 2 and day 8 covid international testing programme to mitigate this risk is one of the most stringent travel testing […]
Oncologica ISO-15189 accreditation for cancer, immunology and Covid PCR tests and sequencing
Oncologica’s UKAS ISO:15189 schedule of accreditation is available here on the UKAS website. Oncologica complies with the rigorous IS0:15189 Medical Laboratory standards across our cancer, immunology, and COVID-19 PCR testing laboratory services. Our SARS-CoV-2 accredited laboratory sequencing assists the national COVID pandemic response enabling understanding of the genetic diversity, spread, and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variant […]
Oncologica video follows COVID-19 PCR swab through genomic lab test
For international travellers, taking their PCR test swab is only the beginning of the Coronavirus PCR test journey. In a meeting with Robert Courts MP, Minister for Aviation, Maritime & Security, Oncologica explained the genetic science and logistics applied daily to thousands of PCR test swabs to determine positive or negative results. Furthermore, the genomic […]
UK Test and Sequence Strategy Aims to Block Emerging COVID-19 Strains
Genomic sequencing is yielding critical insights into how the SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates, which variants are the most infectious and how it travels from place to place. Yet sequencing is still rare in most countries, and more than a year since the virus made its deadly debut much about it remains a mystery. Great Britain has […]
Oncologica – the first UK genomic testing lab government approved for Day 2 and Day 8 testing
Oncologica, the world-leading cancer medicine and Covid-19 genomic sequencing laboratory was the first UK laboratory to receive approval by UKAS and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to perform Covid PCR testing requirements for the for day 2 and day 8 as part of the new requirements for Covid International travel certification. Our high […]
Oncologica’s Coronafocus COVID-19 Test and Sequence platform enables rapid identification of variants of concern
The emergence of Covid-19 variants are a potential threat to the successful global vaccination programmes. Like all viruses, SARS-CoV-2 evolves over time through the acquisition of random mutations in its genome which is an innate characteristic of viral replication. Mutations have the potential to increase the virulence of the virus by for example increasing the […]
Utilisation of semiconductor sequencing for the detection of predictive biomarkers in glioblastoma
Glioblastoma is the most aggressive form of brain cancer, with debilitating symptoms including seizures, memory loss, difficulties in language processing, muscle weakness and visual changes. The standard treatment for glioblastoma involves a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy but have limited impact on survival with the five year survival rate being around 7%. The exponential […]
Oncologica launches an integrated Test and Sequence platform to combine high capacity PCR testing with SARS-CoV-2 variant identification.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had major impact on the social and economic activities of the United Kingdom and has resulted in many deaths. The two major initiatives to address the pandemic has been the establishment of high capacity Covid-19 testing coupled to track and trace and the development of vaccines. Oncologica has contributed to the […]
American Society of Clinical Oncology 2020 annual meeting
Oncologica presents data relating to the performance of the Oncofocus test and the identification of new treatment options for patients with advanced cancers “The actionable genomic mutational landscape in solid tumours”. Advances in somatic cancer genetics and genomic profiling has led to the development of targeted drugs and immunotherapies that are directed against the cancer […]
Immunotherapy: an anti-cancer treatment based on harnessing our own immune system to attack cancer cells
Immunotherapy, in which the body’s own immune system is harnessed to kill cancer cells in patients with advanced disease, is proving a powerful treatment in around 15% of cancer patients. Importantly this type of treatment can be used to treat a broad range of different tumour types including lung, breast and bladder cancers and melanoma. […]
Immunotherapy offers hope for men with prostate cancer
A major trial of an immunotherapy drug has shown it can be effective in some men with advanced prostate cancer. The men had stopped responding to the main treatment options. Researchers found that a small proportion of men, described as “super responders”, remained well even after the trial ended, despite a very poor prognosis before […]
Cancer immunotherapy drug “less toxic and prolongs life”
An immunotherapy drug that could save some cancer patients from the ordeal of extreme chemotherapy may also help them live longer, researchers say. In a trial, pembrolizumab kept head and neck cancers at bay for an average of two years – five times longer than under chemotherapy. The patients also suffered far fewer side-effects. Cases […]