Breast cancer diagnostic tool could save the NHS £287 million

A new study has found that the NHS could save £287 million if breast cancer diagnosis technology were to be adopted.

The Health Economic Study, conducted by Health Tech Connect and commissioned and funded by the UK government, concluded that AI-powered equipment would deliver huge savings of up to 30% in healthcare with much lower acquisition costs, transport charges and fewer chemotherapy prescriptions. If this tool were used for other areas of cancer in the NHS it would deliver even greater savings.

Most breast cancer biopsy results are currently airlifted to the US for analysis at enormous cost to the NHS – and the environment. The 40-page study found Digistan’s technology eliminates this requirement, reducing the NHS carbon footprint by 460 tonnes.

DigiStain has been included in the NHS Innovation Accelerator program – mandated to help innovations spread rapidly throughout the NHS.

Clinical data unveiled last month at the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago showed that Digistan demonstrated diagnostic accuracy similar to the current National Institutes for Health and Care Excellence-approved cancer test.

The health economic study concluded: “The results indicate that the greatest cost savings can be achieved by offering Digistan as an alternative. DigiStain proves to be an optimal alternative to the currently proposed tumor profiling test, as it provides non-inferior health outcomes while generating cost savings… Implementing DigiStain as an alternative to current care will improve health outcomes. This innovation proves to be more cost-effective for post-menopausal women.

“The results indicate that introducing Digistan as an option could lead to statistically significant cumulative savings of £286.7 million on average for the intermediate-risk patient population.”

The UK-made DigiStain is currently being adopted worldwide by hospitals in India, Thailand, Ecuador, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar and Indonesia, with deals in the Americas and parts of Africa imminent. It is being trialled by several UK NHS trusts.

It has also received support from actress Samantha Womack, a breast cancer survivor and patient advocate, who has called for its adoption by the NHS, and was chosen by the American Society of Breast Surgery as one of the top 10 clinical studies of the year.

Sharz Khan, NHS head of pathology at Northampton General Hospital, who is an early adopter of Digistan, said: “Compared to our current provider, who is sending samples to the US for analysis, Digistan massively cuts the waiting time for results. The turnaround time with DigiSten is much faster, it’s more accurate and cheaper.

“The backlog caused by the pandemic and industrial work means that fast-paced technology like this could literally be the difference between life and death.

“I have worked for the National Health Service for 25 years and it is innovation like this that will open a new digital way and frontier for the NHS – and help make it future secure. It should only be a matter of time before DigiStain is adopted across the NHS.”

DigiStein aims to reduce health care inequality around the world and improve its provision in poorer countries in Asia and Africa. It has passed clinical studies and peer review and received market approval from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Dr. Hemmel Amarania, CEO and Clinical Scientist at Digistan, who invented the technology, said: “Digistan is at the forefront of rapid and cost-effective personalized cancer treatment decision making. This cost-effective new technology speeds up biopsy analysis where time and quick action are precious commodities.

“This new and independent study shows the significant economic and emissions savings that the NHS could achieve by adopting DigiStein. It is a dynamic solution and it speeds up the process, thereby reducing patient anxiety and cost. Ultimately, and most importantly, we hope DigiSten can help save thousands of lives.”

The concept was developed at the Imperial College London and Cancer Research UK laboratories under the guidance of eminent pathologist Sir Nicholas Wright and designed with the input of 1500 oncologists. It has been successfully tested on patients at Nottingham University Hospital and Charing Cross Hospital in London. Last year, the company was awarded the Institute of Physics Business Start-up Award.

Around 50,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK, of whom around 11,500 die. The impact of delayed diagnosis will result in an estimated 5,000 additional deaths from breast cancer over the period 2020–2030.

The technology does not rely on the traditional definitive evaluation of chemical analysis. Instead, it uses optical scan technology to capture a unique spectral signature from each biopsy, creating more than 10,000 data points unique to a patient’s individual biology. Artificial intelligence is then used to analyze the imaging data and calculate a Digistain Prognostic Score that accurately and objectively identifies the risk of cancer recurrence.

The technology has been successfully validated in leading cancer centers of excellence and has demonstrated gold-standard equivalence to NICE-approved conventional tumor profiling tests. This research has also been recognized by many prestigious awards in the industry. These include the Imperial College Outstanding Research Award, the Royal Society Innovation Award and the Cancer Research UK Pioneer Award.