Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures his Department has put in place to ensure that people with ovarian cancer and their families are aware of the right to request BRCA1/2 testing at the point of diagnosis; and what steps his Department is taking to encourage greater uptake of BRCA1/2 gene testing.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines recommend offering genetic testing to people with a 10% likelihood of carrying a BRCA1/2 mutation.
NHS England is seeking the advice of its specialised gynaecology Clinical Reference Group in order to inform its policy on this matter.