NHS cancer gene database to identify patients at risk

Patients and their families in England may be able to determine whether or not they are at risk of contracting the disease by a new NHS registry of genes linked to cancer. People will be able to obtain their genetic information as compared to the world-first registry of 120 genes that have been shown to raise the risk of getting cancer, according to NHS England. Many people who have been deemed as having an inheritable risk will be given regular check-ups and screening for certain cancers, including breast and prostate cancer. Patients could also be tested to see if they would respond well to particular drugs, allowing for individualized care. According to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, the life-changing and life-saving device would accelerate screening and allow more cancers to be detected faster.

Every year, tens of thousands of cancer patients and those with a family history of the disease receive genetic testing on the NHS. Many with a higher risk profile will be added to the new registry. They will be provided with targeted advice on how to minimize their risk of getting cancer or recognize it early. The NHS revealed that it was building the registry as part of a 10-year initiative to promote cancer prevention and treatment.

The first time any health-care system has brought together all of the genetic risk data into a single place,

NHS England's national cancer director told BBC Radio 4's Today show.

So that we can notify people to do their cancer screening and in some cases preventative therapy,

Prof. Peter Johnson said.

So we can gather the tests together to see their cancer susceptibility into a single database,

says Prof. Practitioners will be able to keep tabs on people and give them new tests and therapies as they are introduced, he said, while stressing that it will be

very private and secure. Johnson said that although finding out their cancer risk could be

very difficult,

it could also mean that the disease could be detected as early as possible. According to the NHS, a national Inherited Cancer Predisposition Register is based on a similar database for Lynch syndrome, which saw more than 12,000 people being recommended for routine preventative screening after they were identified as being at a higher risk. After unsuccessful chemotherapy, Charlie Grinstead, a 32-year-old man with bowel cancer in 2020, said his Lynch syndrome diagnosis gave him access to immunotherapy, which was

the key to my recovery.

One out of every two people will die from cancer in their lifetime, but that does not mean the chances are random,

Streeting said.

While we can't do anything about inherited genes, we can do something about what we do with the results.

The world's top genetic registry,

he said, would allow personalized and preventative care to be available sooner.

This registry will not only supercharge innovation, it will be life-changing and life-saving, allowing the NHS to provide individual care, fast-track screening, and customized reports so that more cancers can be detected earlier.

The move, according to Claire Rowney, the chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, will

transform the lives of women who are at an elevated risk of breast cancer due to their family history or genetics. It had to be open to all physicians and was intended to ensure that those with an elevated risk profile receive joined-up care, she said.