From telegraph.co.uk
Patients and their family members will be able to compare their genes to database to improve chances of beating the disease
Patients will be able to find out whether they have genes linked to cancer using a world-leading tool developed by the NHS.
The health service is to create a database of 120 genes known to increase the chances of developing cancer, the first of its kind anywhere.
Cancer patients and their family members will be given the chance to have their genes compared to the database.
This will allow people who have cancer to receive tailored treatment that will improve their chances of beating the disease. Relatives with the genes will be offered frequent check-ups.
The repository is the centrepiece of a cancer plan for the next decade. Experts said it would herald “a new era” of personalised medicine and screening, starting with prostate cancer.
Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, said: “One in every two people will get cancer in their lifetime but that does not mean the chances are random. Many people face a higher risk through the genes they inherit.
“And while we cannot do anything about inherited genes, we can do something about what we do with that information.”
He said the programme was part of efforts “to modernise our NHS so it is fit for the 21st century”.
“By launching this world-leading genetic register for people with genetic conditions with an increased risk of cancer, we can provide personalised and preventative care sooner.”
He added: “This register won’t just supercharge innovation – it will be life-changing and life-saving, allowing the NHS to develop individual care, fast-track screening and tailored information to enable more cancers to be caught earlier.”
The register will be used to fast-track thousands more people for screening and testing, while speeding up access to personalised therapy and trials.
The programme means that when cancer is found, patients can be tested to see if specific genetic faults are present, which could make their disease more responsive to particular treatments.
Relatives could spot ‘Jolie gene’
It also means that relatives could be offered testing, to find genetic faults such as the “Jolie” gene which often run in families. Named after the actress Angelina Jolie – who had preventative surgery after she was found to be a carrier – it heightens the risk of breast, ovarian and prostate cancers.
The measures are part of a National Cancer Plan to improve early diagnosis and boost cancer survival, with Britain lagging in international league tables.
Prof Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer at NHS England, said: “We are entering a new era of early detection with pioneering research and testing helping us to discover more about how genes influence our chances of developing cancer – and this register could help ensure thousands more people can be offered screening, tests and the latest treatments.
“Finding out you have an inherited risk of cancer can be life-changing, but it also supports people to access tailored advice on risk-reducing steps and vital monitoring, to increase the chances of any cancers being picked up early or even preventing the disease altogether.
“As we look to the future of cancer care with our upcoming National Cancer Plan, we know we must continue to find ways to prevent cancers from reaching late stage and this programme will be an important part of helping us save more lives.”
Health officials are already preparing to launch the roll out of prostate cancer screening for men who have particular BRCA genes, which more than double the risk of aggressive disease.
Mr Streeting has also said he will “thrash out” the evidence as part of efforts to extend screening more widely, such as for men with a family history of disease.
The Telegraph is campaigning for the introduction of targeted screening for those most at risk, and has been applauded by Mr Streeting for its “relentless focus” in improving diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
The NHS National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Register will be built on the principle of an NHS database created for Lynch Syndrome, which causes bowel and endometrial cancers.
Everyone who is diagnosed with bowel cancer is now offered a test for Lynch syndrome, because it means their disease can be targeted for particular treatments.
It also means their relatives can be offered genetic testing for the syndrome, which increases the risk of bowel cancer by up to 80 per cent. If particular genes are found, patients are offered colonoscopies every two years, in some cases starting from the age of 25.
Currently, women diagnosed with particular types of breast cancer, or disease at a young age, are routinely offered testing for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.
BRCA1-related cancers can be more aggressive, but cancers related to either gene respond particularly well to targeted treatments.
Tests for the genes are currently offered on the NHS only to those with a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer, or confirmation that a close relative has the gene.
When found, patients are offered enhanced screening, including mammograms from the age of 30.
However, the vast majority of cases currently go undetected, because NHS testing has been so limited.
The new register aims to support wider roll out of testing, ensuring that far more cases are logged, and thousands more cases of cancer prevented or spotted earlier.
No comments:
Post a Comment