New research has concluded that screening for a genetic condition in younger people who are diagnosed with bowel cancer would be cost-effective for the NHS.
![Genetic Test for Cancer Patients Could be Cost-Effective, Claims Research Genetic Test for Cancer Patients Could be Cost-Effective, Claims Research](https://images.medindia.net/health-images/1200_1000/dna-7.jpg)
Lynch Syndrome is a condition caused by mutations in the genes responsible for proof-reading DNA. It increases the risk of developing cancer, particularly bowel cancer and cancers of the womb and ovaries. It is responsible for around one in 12 cases of bowel cancer in people aged under 50. Around a third of people with the disease would develop bowel cancer by the time they are 70 if no action is taken. If Lynch Syndrome is identified as the cause of bowel cancer, patients can be offered risk-reducing measures such as more intensive post-operative colonoscopy surveillance to spot recurrences and new cancers early. As close relatives have a 50% chance of having the condition, this testing will help identify them and ensure that they also receive appropriate care
Dr Tristan Snowsill, of the University of Exeter Medical School, said: "This is the first evidence that systematic testing for Lynch syndrome could be cost-effective in the NHS. There are health professionals in the NHS who think cost-effectiveness is the hurdle that needs to be cleared before systematic testing can be implemented; policymakers now have that evidence before them to decide if this is right for the NHS, a decision which will not be solely based on cost-effectiveness."
The team systematically reviewed all the evidence surrounding Lynch Syndrome and bowel cancer, identifying and assessing 42 studies in total, before constructing a computer model of screening strategies for Lynch Syndrome. It found that all screening strategies helped improve health outcomes at a cost generally acceptable to the NHS. The most cost-effective method of identifying Lynch Syndrome involved running tests on the tumour before offering counselling and genetic testing.
In a separate analysis, which has not yet been published or peer-reviewed, the team used the same model to estimate that 28 cancer related deaths (24 from bowel cancer and four from womb cancer) could be prevented each year if Lynch Syndrome screening for people with bowel cancer was introduced.
Dr Ian Frayling, of Cardiff University's Institute of Medical Genetics, was clinical advisor on the research. He said: "This is a very significant piece of work which is much to be welcomed. It justifies the National Health Services in the UK implementing such testing, which is already carried out in other European countries. Those with Lynch Syndrome will now be found and given the care that they warrant, saving time, lives, money and resources. And colleagues around the world are eager to use the model developed by the University of Exeter Medical School, so the benefits extend far beyond the UK."
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"While bowel cancer is thankfully relatively rare in people under 50, there are still 550 people in this age group who lose their lives to bowel cancer each year and that must change."
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Source-Eurekalert