England’s National Health Service announces DNA project to fight cancer, rare diseases
LONDON — England’s publicly funded healthcare system, the National Health Service (NHS), announced 11 new Genomics Medicine Centres Monday, as part of a new DNA scheme that aims to tackle cancer and rare diseases.
The centres are part of their 100,000 Genomes Project, which was launched by Prime Minister David Cameron earlier this year to collect and decode 100,000 genomes, enabling scientists and doctors to understand more about specific conditions.
The NHS aims to “transform the future of healthcare” and hopes the centres will “improve the prediction and prevention of disease, enable new and more precise diagnostic tests, and allow personalisation of drugs and other treatments to specific genetic variants.”
The centres will cover a range of areas in England, including Greater Manchester, the North West coast, Oxford, Birmingham, Southampton, London, Cambridge, Exeter and the South West Peninsula, and the North East.
Image: iStock / Genomics England
Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s National Medical Director, said: “This is an achievable ambition which positions Britain to unlock longstanding mysteries of disease on behalf of humankind.”
“Embracing genomics will position us at the forefront of science and make the NHS the most scientifically advanced healthcare system in the world.”
The project leads anticipate that around 75,000 people will be involved, and recruitment will begin from February 2015.
Participants will have to agree to have their genetic code and medical records made available to drug companies and researchers, the BBC reports. However, this information will be stripped of anything that could identify them personally.
Earlier this month, DNA screening product 23andMe launched in the UK following a ban in the U.S., offering screening for genes associated with certain inherited conditions such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anaemia.
The Google-backed service provides spit kits for £125 which users post off for testing, with results returned in around six weeks.
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