A programme to test cancer patients for 97 genes that increase cancer risk will be piloted at a London hospital and funded by the Wellcome Trust.

The tests, which will start with women who have breast or ovarian cancer in 2014, aim to make genetic risk testing a standard feature of NHS cancer treatment.

The results will be used to select targeted drugs, and could influence other treatment decisions such as the extent of surgery.

Knowledge of genetic risks could also affect the health decisions of relatives of cancer patients.

The testing programme, which will be run by the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, is the first attempt to use mass genetic risk testing as a core aspect of cancer treatment.

Genetic mutations are responsible for 15% of ovarian cancers and around 2% of all cancers. The BRAC gene mutation in women increases the risk of breast cancer to as high as 80%.

The genetic tests were developed by biotechnology company Illumina.

According to Prof. Nazneen Rahman, lead investigator of the programme, knowledge of genetic risk factors “allows more personalised treatment, so for example such people are often at risk of getting another cancer and may choose to have more comprehensive surgery, or may need different medicines, or extra monitoring.”

Prof. Peter Johnson, chief clinician at Cancer Research UK, said: “This exciting new initiative will help embed genetic testing into routine NHS cancer care, and hopefully allow more cancer patients to benefit from genetic testing – and more personalised care – in the future.”

The number of new drugs becoming available to NHS patients is not in decline, contrary to widespread industry rumours.

Researchers analysing the British National Formulary found that the average number of drugs introduced per year is marginally higher than in the 1970s.

There was a dip in the number of new drugs becoming available between 1998 and 2006, but the pipeline has since become stronger.

A team at Birmingham University looked at drugs introduced to the Formulary from 1971 to 2011.

The average number of drugs introduced per year was just under 23, with the current level 0.16 above the level of the 1970s.

The report noted that short-term fluctuations have given rise to impressions in the past that pharmaceutical innovation, or NHS uptake of it, is in decline.

According to author Dr Derek Ward, “We started this research because there was a great deal of pessimism within the industry and among pharmaceutical companies about the number of new drugs that were getting to the market.

“We found that looking at the data over the longer term there was a slight increase. This is obviously a good thing for patients.”

ABPI Chief Executive Stephen Whitehead commented: “It is a common myth that our industry has struggled to develop new medicines, when in reality the research pipelines of companies are healthy.”

The report noted that the time and cost of drug development are increasing and the innovation model is becoming more complex.

Dr Phil L’Huillier of Cancer Research UK noted: “The landscape is shifting, with pharmaceutical companies increasingly collaborating with academia for discovery and development of drugs.”

The NHS will build a database of 100,000 human genomes to assist the development of new therapies for cancer and rare genetic diseases.

Prime Minister David Cameron announced the UK Genome Project, which will strengthen the capacity of the NHS to provide targeted drugs, as part of the Strategy for Life Sciences.

The UK will be the first country to use DNA sequences within its mainstream health service.

The genomes of over 100,000 patients with cancer or rare genetic diseases will be mapped within five years, with the potential to reduce the number of premature deaths from these conditions.

“By unlocking the power of DNA data, the NHS will lead the global race for better tests, better drugs and above all better care,” Cameron said.

The NHS will dedicate £100m over 2013–18 to fund DNA sequencing, build the database and provide training for doctors to use the information.

Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, pointed to Gleevec – Novartis’ drug for chronic myeloid leukaemia – as a successful example of a targeted cancer drug.

The human genome database would enable doctors and scientists to develop new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancers, he said.

The project was welcomed by life science industry representatives. Stephen Whitehead, Chief Executive of the ABPI, said: “The cancer genome initiative will harness the latest science and technology to take the next transformative step towards personalised medicine.

“With our strong science base, our biopharmaceutical industry and the potential of the NHS as an engine for research, the UK is in a prime position to lead on the development and delivery of personalised medicines.”

New research by UK scientists has identified distinct cell types that may be responsible for pre- and post-menopausal breast cancers.

A team at Cancer Research UK’s Cambridge Research Institute (CRI) has determined that the immature ‘progenitor’ cells in mammary glands are of two types, only one of which responds to oestrogen.

The discovery points to the potential for new chemotherapy drugs targeting the oestrogen-positive and oestrogen-negative progenitor cells – which are thought to cause breast cancer in older and younger women respectively.

Progenitor cells, which have the potential for a limited number of cell divisions, are likely ‘roots’ for tumours. The researchers found that some progenitor cells in the human breast have oestrogen receptors while others do not.

The oestrogen-positive progenitor cells survive better in low-oestrogen tissue such as the breast tissue of post-menopausal women, so it may be linked to tumour development in these women.

The oestrogen-negative progenitor cells have a similar genetic makeup to the cells of basal-like tumours – an aggressive form of breast cancer that mostly affects younger women.

Study author Dr John Stingl of the CRI said: “This exciting discovery reveals that mammary glands are much more complicated than scientists initially thought. Uncovering new types of ‘mother’ cells may explain why there are different types of breast cancer, and why young and older women tend to get different types.

“It could also provide new starting points for ways to diagnose and treat the disease in the future.”

The Government will use £15m from the Cancer Drugs Fund for a new nationwide radiotherapy programme aimed at providing nearly 8,000 patients a year with life-saving advanced therapy.

The Cancer Radiotherapy Innovation Fund, which will commence next April, will increase the use of Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) across the NHS.

IMRT targets more precise doses of radiation at tumours whilst minimising the impact on surrounding health tissue thus reducing side effects.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said radiotherapy is one of the most “clinically and cost-effective treatments for cancer” available to the NHS.

The investment will be funded from any under spend arising from the Drug’s Fund in 2012-13. If there is no under spend, the money will be taken from other budgets, the DH confirmed.

Radiotherapy experts, Cancer Research UK and other relevant professional bodies will work together to ensure designated centres adopt the new technique and provide innovative therapy that is clinically appropriate, safe and cost effective.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the new fund would ensure patients get the “drug and treatments they need”.

“We already have a guarantee for drugs – that if they’re safe, cost-effective and doctors say you need them, you will get them,” he said. “From April 2013, for the first time ever, we’re extending that guarantee to radiotherapy too. This is going to help thousands of people at one of the hardest times of their lives.”

Death rates from cancer in the UK will fall by 17% by 2030, according to a new report from Cancer Research UK.

The biggest improvements will be seen in death rates for ovarian cancer and breast cancer in women, as well as in bowel and prostate cancer.

While a reduction in smoking has impacted on cancer incidence, most of the change is due to improved survival rates due to better diagnosis and treatment.

Overall, it is predicted that the age-adjusted mortality figure for cancer in 2030 will be 142 in every 100,000, compared to 170 in 2010.

Death rates from ovarian cancer are predicted to fall by 43% and female breast cancer by 28%. Strong improvements are also expected for bowel cancer (23%) and prostate cancer in men (16%).

However, the death rate from liver cancer is predicted to rise by 39% and that from oral cancer by 22%, due to a combination of lifestyle factors and increased life expectancy.

Professor Peter Sasieni, epidemiologist at the University of London, said: “For many cancers, adjusting for age, death rates are set to fall dramatically in the coming decades. And what’s really encouraging is that the biggest cancer killers – lung, breast, bowel, and prostate – are part of this falling trend.”

The Department of Health noted that it was aiming “to save 5,000 more lives every year by 2015 - and halve the gap in cancer survival between us and the best-performing countries in Europe”.

Over two-thirds of brain cancers, and a third of all cancers, in NHS patients aged over 70 are only diagnosed following emergency hospital admissions.

A study by the National Cancer Intelligence Network found that elderly patients made up two-thirds of the patients whose cancers were diagnosed by that route.

Importantly, it found that patients were far less likely to survive a year if their diagnosis came through A&E rather than an outpatient referral.

According to the study, which looked at 750,000 patients in England, 70% of brain cancers, 55% of pancreatic cancers and 52% of liver cancers in patients aged over 70 were diagnosed via emergency admissions in 2006–8.

Also, 39% of all lung cancers were only diagnosed after an A&E admission.

Study co-author Sara Hiom, Director of Information at Cancer Research UK, said: “We don’t yet know the reasons that lie behind these stark figures, but we urgently need to understand why there is such a great proportion.”

Possible explanations were that elderly patients were “reluctant to bother their doctor,” she said, or that doctors were dismissing symptoms as ‘old age’. In some cases the A&E admissions were emergency GP referrals.

According to Professor Sir Mike Richards, the National Cancer Director, improved awareness of the symptoms of hard-to-detect cancers could reduce the need for emergency diagnoses.

“A public awareness campaign run in Leeds showed that the proportion of emergency presentations can be reduced,” he noted. “Correspondingly more patients were diagnosed through the urgent outpatient route.”

Cancer patients across England may be denied essential treatment due to their GPs missing symptoms and delaying referrals to specialists, a study has found.

Figures from the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) found that some doctors are referring three times more patients than other GPs to see cancer specialists.

Sarah Woolnough, Executive Director of Policy and Information, Cancer Research UK, said the findings are “very worrying” and the process of referrals and poor practice needs to be addressed.

Official figures found that 1,000 GP practices referred more than 2,550 people per 100,000 but sent fewer than 830 patients per 100,000 for further tests.

The individual GP practice with the highest referral rate – 5,591 patients per 100,000 – was in Sefton, Merseyside; however, one practice in London referred only 89 patients per 100,000.

Unsurprisingly, PCTs areas with the highest referral rates – in the north west and south west – have the highest rates of cancer in England.

The study also found the proportion of patients who were referred that went on to be diagnosed. The ‘conversation rate’ across England was almost 11%. But this again varied and highlighted the fact that some GPs are missing essential symptoms or being overly cautious.

Professor Sir Mike Richards (pictured), National Cancer Director, said that anybody with persistent symptoms should be referred “urgently” to increase chances of survival. “Where differences have been exposed, GPs should consider their referral practices, which will help to drive up standards of care for everyone.”

The study calculated that if cancer survival rates in England matched the European average more than 5,000 lives could be saved each year through earlier diagnosis and better treatment. If survival rates matched the best across Europe, around 10,000 lives a year could be saved.

Professor Richards added that the Government has invested more than £450m to achieve early diagnosis rates and to support GPs to assess and diagnose cancer symptoms better as part of its cancer strategy.

NICE’s decision to recommend Janssen’s prostate cancer drug Zytiga (abiraterone) has been backed by patient groups.

Zytiga is now recommended in new draft guidance after further patient data and a revised Patient Access Scheme (PAS) convinced NICE to reconsider its previous rejection of the drug.

Dr Harpal Kumar, CEO of Cancer Research UK, said the decision is “wonderful news for patients” and believes the U-turn reflects “the public’s disappointment at the initial refusal”.

In February this year, NICE failed to recommend the treatment in combination with prednisone or prednisolone after deeming it to be too expensive – despite its clinical benefits.

At the time of the decision, Janssen said it would work closely with NICE to gain a positive recommendation. That included supplying a revised PAS and additional data on a subgroup of patients who may receive the most benefit from the cancer drug.

Janssen also submitted further information on the number of patients for whom Zytiga is licensed, enabling it to be considered under NICE’s end of life criteria.

Professor Johann de Bono from The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, who led the pivotal trials of Zytiga, said he was “thrilled” the revised data has changed NICE’s original decision.

“Abiraterone acetate is one of only a handful of life-extending drugs for these men in the UK and, importantly, it can also improve quality of life,” he said. “Some of my patients have been taking abiraterone for several years through a clinical trial and are still pain free.”

Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in UK men. More than 10,000 men die each year with a further 40,000 men diagnosed annually.

Scientists have discovered how a promising new class of drugs may help to reduce up to 15% of deaths from pancreatic cancers.

Research funded by Cancer Research UK found a faulty gene during experiments which a new class of drugs could target in order to treat certain pancreatic cancers.

Dr Julie Sharp, Senior Science Information Manager at Cancer Research UK, said the findings “raise the possibility” of new treatments helping to save lives each year.

Pancreatic cancer kills around 8,000 people each year. Survival rates are improving gradually, but fewer than one in five patients survive for a year after diagnosis.

Scientists from Cancer Research UK’s Cambridge Research Institute and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute showed that in human and mice cancer cells, a gene called USP9x is switched off through chemical tags on the DNA’s surface.

They believed that the gene may be faulty in up to 15% of pancreatic cancers and hope treatments that strip away these chemical tags could be used in future care pathways.

Co-lead author Professor David Tuveson, from Cancer Research UK’s Cambridge Research Institute, said he was “surprised” that the gene had not been identified before.

“Drugs which strip away these tags are already showing promise in lung cancer and this study suggests they could also be effective in treating up to 15 per cent of pancreatic cancers,” he said.

Fellow co-lead author, Dr David Adams, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said the findings of the study “strengthens our emerging understanding that we must also look into the biology of cells to identify all the genes that play a role in cancer.”