The main causes of serious illness and premature death are Heart disease and Cancer. The incidence of both conditions is determined to a large extent by genetics and other risk factors. The London Genetics Centre has chosen a team of geneticists and physicians from The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Brompton. We have consultant geneticists in cancer medicine, cardiology , general and paediatric genetics. There are only about 130 consultant geneticists in the UK.
Genetics is an intricate science so you need a Genetics team which is at the cutting edge, wise, very experienced and gives great attention to detail. This is where The London Genetics Centre stands out.
What is the importance of doing Whole Genome Screening together with a medical.
The paradigm of medical diagnosis has always been to take a full history, including family history, to examine and then do basic investigations, prior to more specialised tests. This system remains fundamental to best medical care, despite the passage of time. Genetic screening, done in isolation, is just like having only one piece of a whole jigsaw puzzle.
The London Genetics Centre
We comprise a team of five Consultant Geneticists (Prof Eeles, Dr Pichert, Dr Side, Dr Homfray and Dr Wear) who work together to improve genetic care of patients.
We see patients with cancer conditions or strong family histories of cancer or other diseases. The team is broad-based with experience in Cancer Genetics, General Genetics, including Cardiac Genetics, and Paediatric Genetics. We do not do prenatal testing but can refer for this.
We also have a research programme to assess the role of genome screening in primary care for which we have a Senior Genetics Research Nurse, Liz Bancroft PhD, and a Clinical Research Fellow, Dr Anne Britt-Jones.
As well as taking routine clinical referrals, the centre is pioneering The London Genetics Centre Study of Whole Genome Screening, the first in a UK general practice.