Carrying out BRCA tumour and germline sequencing in parallel is likely to detect more pathogenic mutations and reduce treatment delay for women with ovarian cancer, a study shows.

The findings will help women eligible for a poly ADP ribose polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) to get on to therapy sooner, the UK researchers say.

The study examined next generation sequencing results for 844 women in Wales with high-grade serous ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer.

All had either germline testing (by blood test), somatic testing (by tumour biopsy) or both tests carried out at a central Welsh genomics service to look for pathogenic or likely pathogenic BRCA1 or BRCA2 variants.