Gene testing could save THOUSANDS of lives and should be offered to all NHS cancer patients, says top doc
Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies wants DNA mapping to become as standard as blood tests, MRI and CT scans by 2022.
CANCER patients should be offered gene testing on the NHS to boost their survival chances, says England’s top doctor.
Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies wants DNA mapping to become as standard as blood tests, MRI and CT scans by 2022.
Around 330,000 Brits are diagnosed every year but in 2014 only 40,000 had a DNA test.
Yet two-thirds have DNA mutations that can be targeted with specific drugs. Getting the right treatment early improves survival chances.
Dame Sally also said she wanted the £680 tests, which take blood and tumour samples, to be done at a central testing centre rather than at 25 regional labs.
Calling for testing to be brought in as soon as possible, Dame Sally said in her annual report: “We need to take the science to patients.
“Patients with cancer or a rare disease should have access to genomics-based care, and health and care professionals should consider this as a standard part of their approach. This technology has the potential to change medicine forever.
“We need all NHS staff, patients and the public to recognise and embrace its huge potential.”
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Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt welcomed the report. He said: “We will support the NHS to continue its relentless drive to push the boundaries of modern science to benefit even more people.”
Privacy campaigners raised fears about the NHS collecting a large amount of new medical data. Phil Booth, of medConfidential, said: “There may be secrets in your genes that some would prefer to be kept, so people must always be given a clear choice and the right to say ‘No’.”