Genomic testing highlights what make each of us individual by using a very small percentage of DNA. By allowing clinicians access to large pools of genetic data in this way, Dame Davies also hopes that researchers will be able to understand genetic differences that lead to illness. By understanding an illness in more detail, corresponding successful treatments cannot be far behind.
The argument for wide scale testing focuses firstly on cancer and rare disease patients, where genomic testing could help to identify which drugs will work most efficiently in each patient. The more long-term goal is to have centralised laboratories connected to a national network whereby genomic data can be pooled and shared equally across the country to enable full access to clinicians pioneering personalise medicine.
This latest report from Dame Davies is both an inspiration and a concern because, whilst the advancement in more personalised treatments is to be encouraged, the protection of a patient's genetic data cannot be understated. It is not an impossible objective to have the best of both worlds here. With genomic testing allowing each of us the chance to have a cancer treatment plan which reacts to our own body's personal preferences, whilst sharing our data with researchers in a safe and secure way, this could allow them to do the same with prevention as well as cure across the nation. Let us hope that both the NHS and private institutions which promote and encourage this advancement in patient care, have the same goal in mind.