Genomics

Genomics and genetics will impact patients with certain cancers or rare diseases. In Wessex there are around 16,500 new cases of cancer per year, with around 8000 deaths, and direct costs to the NHS of around £290 million.

Rare diseases are rare, but there are lots of them. Combined, approximately 6000 recognised rare diseases affect 7% of the population – more than cancer and HIV together. In Wessex this means around 120,000 people are affected.

There is clearly huge potential in this high-tech and innovative field, and even modest innovations could impact a significant number of patients.

As below, we are focused on 3 projects:

• The 100,000 Genomes Project
  
• Establishing the skills and expertise to find clinically relevant changes to patients genes using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) (The Exome Project)
  
• Ensuring Wessex retains a centre of excellence by hosting a Genomics Central Laboratory Hub