Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that clinical commissioning groups implement the NICE DG27 guidance, Molecular testing strategies for Lynch syndrome in people with colorectal cancer.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published DG27, ‘Molecular testing strategies for Lynch syndrome in people with colorectal cancer’ in February 2017.

The guidance recommends how healthcare professionals should care for people with this condition. It is therefore for the clinician to take this information into account (alongside individual circumstances and medical history) when determining the best course of action for the patient and application may vary depending on the individual case.

NHS England will be working with clinical commissioning group pathology service commissioners to determine whether they can jointly develop a policy proposition relating to genetic testing and the NICE guidance on testing for Lynch syndrome. NHS England will be considering this issue as part of the relevant work programmes during 2018/19.