A test has been developed to determine the effectiveness of a drug used by patients suffering from one of the hardest types of cancer to treat.

Research, led by a team at Dundee University, has helped reveal how oesophageal cancer patients will benefit from the drug gefitinib.

A trial was launched to track the effectiveness of the drug in 2007, which involved 450 patients in 50 hospitals across the UK.

Professor Russell Petty, who led the research, explained: "After starting the trial we quickly observed very dramatic responses in some patients with improvement of their symptoms and while not curative the responses were durable, lasting many months, for example up to two years in some cases."

These responses occurred only in a minority and the overwhelming majority of patients gained no benefit from the drug.

The research team analysed biopsies of patient tumours to establish why some responded well to treatment and others did not.

As a result, they have now developed a diagnostic test - the EGFR FISH test - to identify which patients could benefit from the drug.

This will allow doctors to provide the best possible treatment plan for their patients.

Kate Cunningham, from the oesophageal cancer charity OCHRE, said: "We are delighted to hear of the exciting progress made by Professor Petty and the teams working on this.

"We need to see more support of work like this to ensure that people diagnosed with oesophageal cancer begin to enjoy the same range of treatment options and the same outcomes as those with other cancers where there is wider support and research is being better funded."