UP to 10,000 people with cancer and rare diseases could be tested as part of a landmark genetics project.

As revealed in yesterday’s Oxford Mail the 100,000 Genomes Project will see 11 centres, including one in Oxford, look at researching drug treatments.

The Oxford NHS Genomic Medicines Centre will be run by the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (OUHT) using facilities and staff at the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals.

Bea Prentiss, 65, from Cowley, who has successfully battled breast cancer three times since 1988, welcomed the £300m, three-year project.

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She said: “There is a genetic history in my family of ovarian cancer and breast cancer. I think it’s a fantastic idea.”

Dr Prentiss, who has a PhD in anthropology and works as a freelance graphic designer, said: “This kind of research is important for the future, hopefully for younger people to avoid the sorts of illnesses that we’ve experienced in the past.

“One of the things about cancer is that the treatment often feels worse than the disease. If we can target people who are likely to develop the disease earlier, then they don’t need to go through all the nasty parts of cancer.”

Anna Schuh, Trust consultant haematologist and head of the Oxford Molecular Diagnostics Centre, said: “We have a long history of genome sequencing in Oxford.

“This presents us with a great opportunity to be part of a wider programme through Genomics England which is unique in terms of its scale and ambition. This project is about using genetics to improve diagnosis in order to tailor treatments and disease management for individual patients.”

The project is expected to include between 9,000 and 10,000 patients from Oxfordshire, she said.

Prospective volunteers will be selected by clinicians from February 2 and about 75,000 nationally will have their genomes sequenced.

The Oxford programme will initially focus on breast, lung, prostate, ovarian and colorectal cancers, certain types of leukaemia, and rare inherited diseases where there is a family history. Patients will give blood samples and a tumour specimen, and allow their medical history to be made available for the project.

Professor Gillies McKenna, head of the Department of Oncology at Oxford University & Director of the Cancer Research UK Oxford Centre, said: “We are delighted that the Oxford Genomic Medicine Centre will be run through OUHT.

“This initiative is highly complementary to the plans of the university to build a Precision Cancer Medicine Institute on the Old Road campus, and will ensure that the people of the greater Oxford area have the earliest possible access to new treatments arising from this important new field of research.”

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