SINGAPORE : There will soon be a new tool which can diagnose effective drugs to treat lung cancer patients in a faster and cheaper way.

This is made possible by a collaboration involving the National University of Singapore, the National University Hospital and RIKEN Institute, Japan's oldest and most established research facility.

In a statement, the parties involved said currently, diagnosis of a patient's suitability for treatment is done after a cancer tumour is surgically removed.

This is then followed by a pathology examination.

The process takes about three weeks.

Researchers hope that this could be reduced to just five hours, using the new diagnostic test.

A diagnostic study, which is expected to start next month, will take about one year to complete. - CNA/ms