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| Cancer risk gene testing announced | Cancer risk gene testing announced |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A pioneering programme to test cancer patients for nearly 100 risk genes is to start in London and could represent the future of treatment in the NHS. | A pioneering programme to test cancer patients for nearly 100 risk genes is to start in London and could represent the future of treatment in the NHS. |
| It will look for genes such as those which led Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie to have a double mastectomy. | It will look for genes such as those which led Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie to have a double mastectomy. |
| The results will be used to pick targeted drugs or decide how much of the tissue around a tumour to remove. | The results will be used to pick targeted drugs or decide how much of the tissue around a tumour to remove. |
| It will also highlight patients at high risk of additional cancers, who need to be monitored closely. | It will also highlight patients at high risk of additional cancers, who need to be monitored closely. |
| A person's genetic code is like an instruction manual for building and running their body. | |
| However, faulty instructions can increase a person's risk of developing cancer. Some people with BRCA gene mutations have an 80% risk of breast cancer. | |
| The testing will be run by the Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden hospital in London. | |
| Prof Nazneen Rahman, lead investigator of the programme said: "It is very important to know if a mutation in a person's genetic blueprint has caused their cancer. | |
| "It allows more personalised treatment, so for example such people are often at risk of getting another cancer and may choose to have more comprehensive surgery, or may need different medicines, or extra monitoring." | |
| For example, a patient with colon cancer may chose to have a large section of their bowel removed, rather than just the tumour, if it turned out they were at very high risk of colon cancers and were likely to develop more later in life. |