Doctors at University College hospital in London are to treat three families with a history of inherited cancer by carrying out genetic tests on embryos during standard IVF. Joy Delhanty, the professor of human genetics who is leading the research, is working on the simplest of inherited cancers - those that are caused by a mutations in a single gene. Such cancers only account for about 2 per cent of all cancer cases. The technique, called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), has been used since the early 1990s to help families suffering from severe genetic disease to avoid passing on the disorder to their children.
This application of the technique will be more controversial because it is being used to help families avoid having children who are only likely to develop the disease either in childhood or in later life. However, Professor Delhanty has pointed out that 'some families have suffered from a particular type of cancer for generations... This work could enable us to prevent it recurring and so protect future generations'.
Sources and References
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Conception and beyond
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London doctors race to make cancer-free babies
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Warning over 'Nazi' genetic screening
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