Almost everyone is confronted at some point in life with a cancer diagnosis, whether in their own family or among friends. In Luxembourg, it is estimated that around 18,000 people are currently living with cancer. The period between an initial suspicion and receiving a clear diagnosis, along with the treatment options, is often emotionally taxing. Essential to this process are laboratory analyses, which are carried out in Luxembourg by the National Health Laboratory (LNS).
Every year, about 3,400 people in the country are diagnosed with cancer. Over the past years, treatments have become increasingly personalised, requiring more precise pathological analyses of tumours. However, many oncologists have expressed frustration that the turnaround time for these analyses is often too long. While patients abroad might wait around a week for results, in Luxembourg the delay can stretch to three weeks. The issue is not new.
Dr Frank Jacob explained that oncologists across the country are in regular contact with LNS colleagues and have consistently raised concerns about this long-standing issue, which he described as a chronic problem worsening over the past two decades.
While he clarified that the delays are unlikely to significantly affect survival rates, he stressed the emotional burden caused by long waits. Patients are left in limbo, not knowing how to plan the coming months, whether they need radiotherapy, how to handle employment issues, or what to expect for their personal lives. This uncertainty, he noted, has a deeply human and family-level impact that goes beyond medical concerns.
Patients have echoed this psychological toll in testimonies recently shared with RTL. The LNS says it understands this concern. At the same time, the management has pointed out that the shift toward more targeted treatments also demands increasingly complex and tailored laboratory work. Depending on the initial findings, further tests on the organs may be needed, which naturally extends the process.
Dr Stéphane Gidenne, Director of the LNS, explained that once the first results are in, pathologists or clinicians often need to conduct follow-up tests, which sometimes involves specific markers or even genetic testing. These additions can prolong preparation time, he stated. Gidenne noted that such steps are becoming increasingly common and form part of a structured diagnostic strategy, which means the total time required is inherently longer due to the technical complexity of the analyses.
Dr Thomas Dentzer, Chief Operating Officer of the LNS, stated that some improvements have already been made in the past two years. He added that the team began overhauling procedures two years ago, identifying weak points and more than doubling their processing capacity. Dentzer explained that this was made possible through investments in new equipment and updates to workflows.
However, he admitted that only about a quarter to a third of the overall process has been optimised so far. Dentzer concluded that efforts are ongoing to digitise and automate more of the work and to streamline remaining procedures for faster turnaround times.
The LNS management explained that currently, delays remain particularly pronounced in gynaecology and dermatology. They noted that this is primarily due to a shortage of specialised pathologists in those fields. To address the issue, teams are being trained to work across multiple specialisations, aiming to avoid such discrepancies in the future.
