Oxford University
Blood test may improve survival of childhood cancer in Africa
In a study published in Nature Medicine, researchers from the University of Oxford and the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Dar es salaam, Tanzania, have shown that a minimally invasive “liquid biopsy” test can diagnose Burkitt lymphoma rapidly and accurately in sub-Saharan Africa, where delays in traditional testing often prove fatal.
Despite its aggressive nature, Burkitt lymphoma is often curable when treated quickly, with survival rates over 90%. Treatment is widely available and free-of-charge in most sub-Saharan countries, however current diagnostic tests demand specialist expertise and laboratory equipment that are often unavailable in resource-limited settings. Due to this, most children either remain undiagnosed or are diagnosed too late. In much of the region, survival rates can fall below 50%.
‘There is an urgent need for new diagnostic methods that are practical and effective in the under-resourced settings where Burkitt lymphoma is most common’, said Anna Schuh, Professor of Molecular Diagnostics at the University of Oxford and lead researcher on the study. ‘This is a highly treatable cancer, yet too many children and young adults are not diagnosed in time. As a minimally invasive and precise approach, liquid biopsy tests have enormous potential to transform diagnosis in sub-Saharan Africa and significantly improve outcomes.’
Liquid biopsies detect tiny amounts of DNA released by cancer cells into the blood. Using a simple blood sample, scientists can identify specific genetic changes that are characteristic of Burkitt lymphoma and distinguish them from DNA from healthy cells or other tumour types.
Professor Anna Schuh and her team in Oxford, working in collaboration with researchers at MUHAS in Tanzania, the Central Public Health Laboratory in Kampala, Uganda and four study sites in these countries have developed a minimally invasive liquid biopsy test for the rapid and precise detection of Burkitt lymphoma. This is the first indication that liquid biopsies might play a big role in diagnosing other cancers in sub-Saharan Africa.
The international research team evaluated the liquid biopsy test in a large group of children and young adults who presented with clinical signs of lymphoma across four hospitals in Uganda and Tanzania. Its performance was compared to a tissue biopsy-based approach that used diagnostic tests accessible in limited-resource settings.
High accuracy and faster results
The blood test demonstrated strong ability to distinguish Burkitt lymphoma from other conditions, achieving an overall accuracy of 98%. Among 81 patients with a confirmed tissue-based diagnosis of Burkitt lymphoma, 86.4% were correctly identified via liquid biopsy.
Importantly, the blood test dramatically reduced the time needed to reach a diagnosis. A liquid biopsy diagnosis was 40.3 days faster on average, compared to tissue biopsy diagnosis.
To understand how the test would perform in real-world clinical practice, the team held weekly multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings to review cases in real time.
Clara Chamba, Head of Haematology at MUHAS and study author said: ‘Introducing liquid biopsy into our multidisciplinary meetings transformed how quickly we could start treating our patients. With liquid biopsy, 93% of cases were diagnosed within the first week of sample collection, compared to just 40% when we relied on tissue biopsy alone. For a cancer that progresses as quickly as Burkitt lymphoma, that time can be life-saving.’
While further work is needed to understand how to scale the test for clinical use, this study shows that liquid biopsy could serve as a complementary and timely diagnostic tool, especially where tissue biopsy access is limited or delayed. By increasing diagnostic yield and dramatically shortening time to diagnosis, this approach could help ensure that children with Burkitt lymphoma begin life-saving treatment sooner.
Professor Bruno Sunguya, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research and Consultancy, MUHAS, Tanzania, said: ‘The successful implementation and analytical work conducted in Tanzania and Uganda demonstrates that precision medicine research can and should be led from within low- and middle-income countries. Beyond lymphoma, this work opens new opportunities to apply genomic and liquid biopsy technologies to strengthen cancer diagnosis and improve outcomes more broadly across the region. This collaboration reaffirms our commitment to advancing innovation, accelerating timely diagnosis, and improving survival for children and adults affected by cancer.’
‘Liquid biopsy for the diagnosis of EBV-positive Burkitt’s lymphoma in endemic areas‘ is published in Nature Medicine.
According to findings in our new research exploring pupils’ perspectives on the role of AI in classrooms, teenagers are unclear over appropriate use of AI in their schoolwork.
We conducted research with almost 4,000 13-18-year-olds across the UK, revealing the different approaches that young people take to using AI in their schoolwork, and what roles they see AI playing education—both for them and their teachers.
The report follows on from research we published in 2025, which was one of the first pieces of UK research to hear directly from young people regarding their views on AI in education.
Some of our key findings:
Appropriate use of AI is a grey area
While only four in 10 (44%) think it is cheating to use AI to complete all of their homework, almost one in five also think it is cheating to simply ask any AI tool to give them homework tips.
Students are calling for more support from schools
Just 15% of students stated they have been given enough guidance.
77% would like to see their teachers use AI to support their class in lessons
Key areas include using AI to make complex work easier to understand and lesson planning.
Pupils emphasize their teacher’s unique value
73% pointed to a skill their teacher has which AI can never replace, such as personability, empathy, and human understanding.
Using AI in written tasks
In our qualitative studies, students were asked to complete a simple written exercise and offered the choice of using a generative AI tool if they wished. Of those who had access to AI, almost three quarters (72%) decided not to use it. Of those who didn’t have access, less than a quarter (23%) said they would have liked to have used an AI tool if they had been able to do so.
Young people do not use AI as a default for homework
The qualitative studies mirror survey findings, which highlight that young people do not use AI as a default for their homework, with only one in four (24%) regularly seeking out AI tools. Furthermore, one in three (34%) only use AI tools to help with their homework if suggested by their teachers compared to just 13% who are influenced by their friends.
Students are more excited than worried over impact of AI on their education
Four in 10 students (39%) are more excited than worried about the impact of AI on their education, compared to 16% who said they were more concerned and less than one in three (30%) who felt neither way.
What helps students learn more effectively when using AI?
When asked what helps them learn more effectively when using AI, the majority expressed preferences for AI tools that suggested tasks they can do to help them understand the subject better (44%) or asked them questions to help them reach the answer on their own (41%), compared to just one in five wanting an AI tool to give them the answer straight away.
Dr Alexandra Tomescu
Head of Product AI
“Whilst the research highlights that the appropriate use of AI is still a grey area for students, it’s reassuring to see young people’s sophisticated attitude towards AI. Both the research and qualitative studies show AI is not necessarily a default for all students, and despite being excited about its impact on their education they still inherently value the role of their teachers and look to their school for guidance. It’s vital therefore that we support teachers with the resources and tools they need to responsibly guide their pupils and harness AI’s potential in the classroom.”
Read the full report on Navigating AI in Education here, and find out more about our updated AI resources and guidance here.
The post New research shows teenagers are divided over AI use for schoolwork appeared first on Oxford University Press.
We have been recognised with two awards at the 2026 Society of Scholarly Publishing (SSP) EPIC Awards Celebration, held on 28 May in California.
Oxford Law Pro, our knowledge resource for legal professionals and researchers, has won Gold in two categories: Hosting Platform Features and Branding.
The Excellence in Publishing, Information Technology, & Communications (EPIC) Awards celebrate the remarkable achievements of individuals and teams who are advancing scholarly publishing through creativity, collaboration, and innovation. The Hosting Platform Features category highlights technical innovations that improve how scholarly content is hosted, accessed, and experienced, while the Branding category recognizes outstanding efforts to build and maintain a strong brand identity in scholarly publishing.
Mirkka Jokelainen, Product Portfolio Manager, said:
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see Oxford Law Pro recognised across both platform innovation and branding. These awards reflect the collaboration and commitment of colleagues across OUP and our work with Silverchair and Baxter & Bailey. Our shared focus was to deliver real value to legal researchers and professionals.From the AI Research Assistant through to the product’s identity and positioning, the goal was to create something that is both highly functional and clearly signals what is unique about what OUP can offer. The SSP EPIC Gold Awards celebrate this work.”
About the platform
Launched last year, Oxford Law Pro brings together more than 9,000 journal articles and over 600 award-winning, peer-reviewed books from our portfolio of authoritative and timely legal analysis, all on our Oxford Academic platform.
Oxford Law Pro is powered by a conversational AI research assistant, developed with Silverchair, making legal research more efficient without compromising on accuracy. Unlike generic AI search tools, Oxford Law Pro employs retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) frameworks specifically tuned for legal content, ensuring responses are grounded exclusively in OUP’s authoritative materials.
The platform equips legal professionals with tools that match the realities of modern practice, and by reducing time spent on initial source identification, the AI assistant allows them to allocate more time to substantive analysis, strategic thinking, and client service.
For many years, we have served the academic market with legal research materials, developing a reputation for publishing the highest quality research from globally respected authors. Oxford Law Pro delivers this content in a way that’s designed for legal professionals’ needs. Backed by our research and workshops, a process supported by legal technology expert Jenifer Swallow, we developed product branding and messaging to both reflect our established reputation and resonate with practitioners who may not have encountered OUP before.
We worked with design agency Baxter & Bailey to develop a strong, modern visual identity, messaging, and a suite of imagery to bring Oxford Law Pro alive. Congratulations to all involved for this industry recognition.
Find out more about Oxford Law Pro.
More than 2,000 primary schools and education non-profit organizations (NPOs) across South Africa will receive new mobile trolley library resources in 2026 as the AVBOB Road to Literacy campaign expands to its largest scale yet, introducing braille-inclusive trolley libraries for the first time.
Announced at a Johannesburg event attended by Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube, the initiative will deliver 2,000 trolley libraries to under-resourced primary schools and NPOs nationwide. Each mobile trolley contains 500 Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) aligned books, bringing the total number of books distributed this year to one million. The campaign continues to prioritize communities with limited access to quality reading materials.
The AVBOB Road to Literacy campaign was launched in partnership with OUP Southern Africa in 2022 to help address South Africa’s literacy challenges by providing primary schools and education NPOs with mobile classroom libraries filled with CAPS-aligned books. The initiative focuses on the Foundation and Intermediate Phases and is designed to give learners more regular access to age-appropriate reading materials that supports literacy and numeracy.
A major development in 2026 is the introduction of 10 braille-inclusive trolley libraries for selected schools and organizations that support blind and partially sighted learners, bringing the total number of trolley libraries to 2,010. Each of the braille trolleys contain more than 100 braille anthologies and 350 sighted Aweh! readers, and make it possible for blind, partially sighted, and sighted children to engage with the same stories.
Karen Simpson
Managing Director of OUP Southern Africa
“The need for books that children can see themselves in, and access in ways that are meaningful for them, has never been clearer. Bringing braille into Road to Literacy for the first time is an important step forward. It allows more learners to experience the joy of story, language, and learning, while creating opportunities for shared reading across classrooms and communities.”
From 2022, to 2026, the AVBOB Road to Literacy campaign has donated 3,893 trolley libraries and distributed approximately two million books, reaching just under 4,000 beneficiary schools and education NPOs. With the 2026 rollout now donating braille libraries, the initiative continues to grow in scale while widening the kinds of learners it can reach.
Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube noted: “Partnerships with business can go a long way towards improving educational outcomes in the country. AVBOB has been an incredible partner to the education sector, and their trolley libraries are bridging the literacy gap in under-resourced schools. The inclusion of braille books in this year’s trolley libraries will ensure that even learners with visual impairments are not left behind in the literacy journey. Access to knowledge and the joy of reading must extend to every child, regardless of their circumstance. We must work collaboratively as business, government, and society to build a just and equitable education system.”
Nakedi Pilane, Executive Director: Business Development and Financial Services at AVBOB, said: “The increasing demand for trolley libraries has been one of the clearest indicators of the initiative’s value. Schools that initially received a single trolley now request additional resources to support the momentum they see in their learners. Teachers tell us about classrooms that feel more energized, about learners who look forward to reading time, and about children who are discovering language as an avenue to curiosity and self-expression. These shifts may appear modest, but in educational terms, they represent meaningful, long-term progress. When reading begins to take root, a community begins to unlock its potential.”
You can watch a recap of the 2026 recipient announcement ceremony here.
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