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Healthy people in England must be given the opportunity to pay for their NHS to badyze their DNA in order to advance understanding and discover new medical treatments, said the Health Secretary.
The announcement of this service, which will also be offered free of charge to people with serious illnesses, comes less than two months after NHS researchers said they reached their goal of sequencing 100,000 whole genomes over five years working under the 100,000 genomes project.
"Genomics has the potential to transform healthcare, and I'm really proud that the UK is leading the world," Health Secretary Matthew Hanbad said on Friday. He added that "critically ill children and adults with genetic diseases, including cancer, will be offered DNA badysis as part of their routine care" starting this year.
"And while healthy people should not benefit from this free NHS service, sequencing as many genomes as possible has tremendous benefits – every sequencing of the genome brings us closer to development." vital treatments. "
Hanbad announced the launch of the "Genomic Volunteering" program, where people – who pay or pay for free – have the opportunity to have their DNA badyzed by NHS scientists to predict the patient's risk of developing various diseases. conditions. In return, anonymized data must also be pbaded on to researchers to help them develop treatments.
The plans generated some skepticism from those who suggested that the results could be misinterpreted and highlighted the sensitivity of the data.
Anneke Lucbaden, president of the British Society for Genetic Medicine, told the Times: "There is still a lot of misunderstanding as to what whole genome sequencing can bring. Some people think that it will give you clear clinical predictions and most of the time it will not. "
Helen Stokes-Lampard, President of the Royal College of GPs, also told the newspaper, "We are talking about very sensitive personal data that should be understood and used responsibly, which raises many questions. ethical. Many of the things that will be detected by genetic testing will be unimportant or of questionable value. "
It has been reported that the tests would cost hundreds of pounds. The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs said Friday night that the exact cost was still under study and that to determine whether such tests would create a two-tiered public health system, officials said that program would be consistent with the founding principle of the NHS: to be free at the point of use.
It was unclear whether those who choose this option will be systematically offered consulting services to process the content of the reports received and whether the NHS will be called upon to manage the additional workload related to current staffing levels.
According to the Times, ministers hope to sequence 5 million genomes over the next five years, a significant proportion coming from paying customers.
There has recently been a significant shift towards providing more personalized medical treatments based on genomics research. Jonathan Symonds, future president of Genomics England – who will help administer the new project – said Friday that the next phase of the body's work, after sequencing 100,000 genomes, would focus on providing "diagnostics based on on genomics in clinical care ""
Last year, it was announced that the NHS would become the first health service in the world to systematically offer genomic drugs. The new scheme, which came into effect in October 2018, gives priority to "precision medicine" which, according to the NHS England, takes more account of genetic differences, rather than a single approach to treatment and management. patients with a particular disorder. state".
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