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Breast cancer gene test for over-30s

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Mammogram

Women in their 30s could soon be offered a gene test to determine their chances of getting breast cancer.

If a woman is at high risk, they could receive regular X-rays or MRI scans which can identify the disease in its early stages.

A new report has revealed that the technology is in place to administer the test, but health chiefs must now decide if regular testing is cost-effective.

Dr Paul Pharoah from Cambridge's Department of Oncology and Public Health said: 'This approach would also identify a 55-year-old woman with a low chance of breast cancer who possible wouldn't need such regular checks.'

Currently only women with a very strong family history of breast cancer are given the test on the NHS.

Dr Lesley Walker, of Cancer Research UK, said: 'This study marks the potential for a tailormade approach to screening for breast cancer which could radically change who we target and how we detect early signs of the disease.'

Thursday 26 June 2008

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I think that anything which detects/screens breast cancer early or potential disease probability is a MUST to be offered to anyone - as ultimately it costs less to identify early and deal with it than the costs once the disease has progressed! Surely this should be seen almost as a preventative measure and far more cost effective than 'cure' (for those lucky enough!)
It's about time the NHS did some proper data analysis on TRUE costs (if they recorded true and accurate data in the first place it'd be common practice by now!)
Comment by Jo on June 30 19:19