A REVOLUTIONARY new handheld "pen" allows surgeons to test for cancer in seconds.

The device gives medics a better chance of removing "every last trace" of the disease.

Tests found the tool took just 10 seconds to provide a diagnosis and was more than 96 per cent accurate

Researchers at the University of Texas say the device is capable of identifying cancerous cells more than 150 times faster than existing technology.

The MasSpec Pen can give surgeons precise information about which tissue to cut or preserve, helping to improve treatment and reduce the chances of cancer reoccurring, they said.

Tests conducted by the team found the tool took just 10 seconds to provide a diagnosis for cancer and was more than 96 per cent accurate.

Livia Schiavinato Eberlin, an assistant professor of chemistry who designed the study, said: "If you talk to cancer patients after surgery, one of the first things many will say is 'I hope the surgeon got all the cancer out'.

"It's just heartbreaking when that's not the case.

"But our technology could vastly improve the odds that surgeons really do remove every last trace of cancer during surgery."

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