Top doctor: Give cancer patients DNA tests to create tailor-made treatments
GENETIC tests should be offered to millions of patients with cancer and other rare diseases, according to the chief medical officer.
Dame Sally Davies said these would enable doctors to diagnose illnesses more quickly and prescribe a bespoke treatment.
the information could also help scientists to predict how a condition will progress, based on a person’s DNA. Dame Sally wants to set up a central genetic database within the next five years to aid research.
our genes dictate how quickly cancerous tumours grow and whether they will respond to certain types of drugs. So far only around 30,000 patients have had their genes tested, even though scientists can now analyse a significant proportion to work out the most effective treatments.
Dame Sally wants to massively expand the process – known as whole genome sequencing – over the next
‘This could change medicine for ever’
few years to include all patients with cancer, rare diseases and illnesses such as tuberculosis.
She said genetic testing should become as routine as an MRI scan, although patients would have the opportunity to opt out.
But the ambition for a central database will prompt concerns that medical information will fall into the hands of hackers or be used by insurance firms to boost premiums.
only two months ago the NHS was crippled by a huge cyber attack which was thought to have been carried out by hackers in North Korea.
Dame Sally insisted the database would be extremely secure and that the risks of a hack were outweighed by the huge benefits of holding the information.
Each human being has around 20,000 genes, which determine everything from our eye colour and body shape to the diseases we are likely to develop in future. Genetic tests would also be offered to patients’ family members to check whether they have inherited the same diseases. they cost £680 per patient but Dame Sally believes they would ultimately save the NHS millions of pounds as patients would only be offered those treatments known to work.
She said: ‘this technology has the potential to change medicine for ever but we need all NHS staff, patients and the public to recognise and embrace its huge potential.
‘Genomic medicine has huge implications for the understanding and treatment of rare diseases, cancer and infections – ending the “diagnostic odyssey” and tailoring treatment for more patients than ever.
‘Patients with cancer or a rare disease should have access to genomicsbased care, professionals should consider this as a standard part of their approach.’
Within the next five years, Dame Sally said it would be her ‘dream’ to see genetic tests offered to 3.5million patients with rare diseases, the 350,000 diagnosed with cancer annually and the 6,000 who develop tuberculosis. Dr Michael Dunn, head of genetics at charity Wellcome, welcomed Dame Sally’s call as a ‘ bold and forward-thinking vision’.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: ‘We will support the NHS to continue its relentless drive to push the boundaries of modern science to benefit even more people.’
Counselling could reduce the severity of hot flushes in breast cancer patients having chemotherapy.
A clinical trial, funded by charity Breast Cancer Now, will examine how cognitive behavioural therapy (CBt) alleviates the side effect suffered by around 70 per cent of women undergoing treatment.
Although previous research found it helped many women regain control of debilitating symptoms, CBt is not routinely available to breast cancer patients on the NHS.