Most hospitals ‘fail to carry out vital £200 cancer tests’
FOUR in five English hospitals do not follow guidelines and test bowel cancer patients for Lynch syndrome, a genetic condition raising risk of the disease.
The £200 tests can guide the treatment of current patients and determine if their families are at risk of the cancer.
The revelation comes after BBC news presenter George Alagiah says his bowel cancer could have been caught earlier with better screening. Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer, which found the testing shortfall, said nine in 10 hospital trusts cited cost as a barrier to testing. Deborah Alsina, CEO of the charity, warned that “the estimated 175,000 people who carry this faulty gene will continue to fall through gaps”. She said: “The price of testing for Lynch is peanuts.”