Cancer breakthrough: Treatment could be personalised to YOU by using your genes
CANCER is currently treated using a variety of drugs and therapies, but new plans mean your genes may be enlisted to tailor medicine specifically to you.
In the UK, cancer kills approximately 162,000 people every year.
However, a new government initiative to cut deaths is set to involve every cancer patient having their DNA tested.
In the future, their whole genome could be sequenced in order to understand the genetic changes which increase the mutation rate in the cell - leading to tumour growth and spreading.
Access to genome-based personalised medicine for cancer patients is part of a five-year plan unveiled today by the Government's chief medical adviser.
Professor Dame Sally Davies, the Government's chief medical adviser, said millions of patients having their DNA tested as genome sequencing will become as normal as having MRI scan, blood tests and biopsies.
Professor Dame Sally Davies said millions of patients having their DNA tested as genome sequencing will become as normal as having MRI scan, blood tests and biopsies.
As well as cancer, people with rare diseases may also stand to benefit from this new technology.
Whole genome sequencing involves decoding the genetic instructions that make us what we are.
Dame Sally said: "The age of precision medicine is now and the NHS must act fast to keep its place at the forefront of global science.
"This technology has the potential to change medicine forever - but we need all NHS staff, patients and the public to recognise and embrace its huge potential.
"Genomic medicine has huge implications for the understanding and treatment of rare diseases, cancer and infections."
Tens of thousands of NHS patients have already had their DNA mapped, but it's likely this figure will significantly increase when the new plans come into effect.
While genetic testing for the NHS is currently conducted in a number of regional labs, Dame Sally is recommending that it is centralised.
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Additionally, a new National Genomics Board would be established to oversee development of these genomic services.
The new plans are made feasible by the rapid reduction in the cost of the tests from several thousand pounds to an average of £680.
Analysis of cancer samples could be delivered in as little as four weeks.
This means a personalised approach to treatment could happen sooner rather than later for the patient.