Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the reasons for women choosing to take a test for the BRCA1/2 gene mutation.

George Freeman

NHS England offers BRCA testing to individuals with a greater than 10% chance of carrying the mutation, using a model based on the individual’s personal and family history of cancers. Data is not collected centrally on reasons for women choosing to take a test for the BRCA1/2 gene mutation.

The UK Genetic Testing Network is working with NHS England, the devolved administrations and the Health and Social Care Information Centre to collect and publish United Kingdom-wide data on molecular genetic testing activity. Data collection is expected to have been completed by the summer of 2016 with a full update prepared for publication by the end of the year. However, it is not intended that this will include specific data for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing activity.