Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to test people diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer for the BRCA gene mutation.

Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service, and delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). The NHS GLHs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (NGTD), which includes tests for over 7,000 rare diseases and over 200 cancer clinical indications, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing. The NGTD is updated regularly and sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing.

Genomic testing for inherited breast cancer is covered in the NGTD under clinical indications R208 and R444, and includes testing for a range of patients with triple negative breast cancer.