§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects his Department's cancer genetic risk assessment trials to be completed.[160073]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonWe announced in the White Paper, Our Inheritance, Our Future—Realising the potential of genetics in the NHS, published on 24 June 2003, that the Department would be co-funding, in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Relief, a programme of pilot projects to support people who have a family history which suggests that they may have an increased risk of developing certain types of cancer.
My noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, announced the £1.5 million programme setting up four pilot sites on 20 February 2004. The pilot services will offer genetic assessment to appropriate individuals, but this is not a trial of genetic risk assessment per se. The pilots will, rather, test out ways to provide an integrated service for individuals who are, or are concerned that they may be, at increased risk of cancer due to genetic factors. The pilot sites will run for up to three years and will be evaluated to ensure lessons about how best to deliver this type of service can be shared by the wider National Health Service.
There are other relevant developments in the area of assessment of genetic risk of cancer. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is preparing guidance for the NHS in England and Wales on the identification and management of genetic risk of familial breast cancer. This is due to be published shortly and is expected to include guidance on how to assess risk and when it is appropriate to refer individuals for genetic testing.