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Dr Paul Jenkins |
Gene scan ‘to predict chances of getting ill’
Doctor says simple swab will reveal your risk of getting cancer
NERVOUS hypochondriacs will want to steer clear of a new private clinic at Bart’s Hospital which is able to predict your risk of getting cancer, heart and Alzheimer’s disease.
But the new Genetic Health centre is already said to be attracting hundreds of clients since it opened two months ago, according to the man who runs it consultant physician Dr Paul Jenkins.
A simple swab is taken from inside the mouth which is then analysed for gene variations that can put you at risk to certain diseases.
For example if a woman has a faulty version of the BRCA1 gene she is 85 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer and up to 40 per cent more likely to develop ovarian cancer.
Armed with the results of your scan, which takes two to three weeks to be analysed, the idea is that you pinpoint your health weaknesses and then make lifestyle and other changes to keep your risks to a minimum.
The service is not on the NHS, however, and costs range from £130 to £825 for a full report.
Dr Jenkins who has been based at Bart’s for 17 years said: “Our customers include anyone from people in their early 20s to those in their mid 70s.”
Had he carried out a test on himself?
He said: “I have and I found it extremely useful and informative. But these things are private and I’m not prepared to tell you what it said.”
Did he not think that a lot of people – including this journalist – would find it extremely alarming to know that they were predisposed to certain illnesses?
A lot of people may not want to know they are predisposed to Alzheimer’s, for example, because there is no cure.
Dr Jenkins added: “Everyone who has had the test is pleased with the information because they are able to make life style changes to negate that genetic influence.
“It can be extremely empowering.
“People have given up smoking, changed their diet or taken up more exercise.
“With Alzheimer’s there always the possibility of a future cure and it may be useful to be fore warned.
“One gentlemen had a predisposition to heart disease and went on to have a life saving operation.”
Many fear that insurers could use such information to push fees up or as a basis to refuse to provide cover. Currently there is a moratorium until 2011 on insurers using genetic data.
Dr Jenkins said: “After that nobody
knows what will happen. Certainly in our case nobody is informed it all done privately and securely. “
The unit is one of the most advanced in the world, according to Dr Jenkins.
He said: “There are one or two companies in the US, but they do not have our medical expertise.”
Dr Paul Jenkins
Hospital wins £80m research bid
UNIVERSITY
College London Hospital has won a multi-million pound bid to become a World Class Biomedical Centre.
The Bloomsbury hospital, which has won more than £80 million spread over the next five years, has been picked as one of five new comprehensive biomedical research centres of excellence in the country.
UCLH will use the funds to develop existing research into cancer, cardiovascular and neurological diseases as well as new fields.
The hospital, in collaboration with University College London (UCL), will form part of the government’s new National Institute for Health Research.
The UCLH’s slice will be £16.5 million a year for the next five years from April.
UCLH Research and Development director and UCL vice-dean for Biomedicine Professor Ian Jacobs, who will direct the new centre, said: “This funding provides an exciting opportunity to focus the world leading research expertise at UCLH and UCL on advances which will have a direct impact on patient care.” |
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