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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Meet Rachel Spence, Genomic Practitioner for Breast Cancer
October is Breast Cancer awareness month and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust’s (NUH) first and only genomics practitioner for breast cancer wants to help raise awareness by sharing her story of how she was inspired to care and start her career at NUH after losing her mum to breast cancer at a young age.

Cambridgeshire GP Practice first in our region to recruit patients to study looking to minimize side-effects, and improve effectiveness of medications
A GP Practice in Cambridgeshire is the first in our region to take part in a national project which is looking to establish the feasibility of providing an NHS-wide diagnostic service to identify genetic changes associated with commonly prescribed drugs.

Upcoming Genomics Community of Practice sessions - October 2025
Since we started up 14 new Genomics Communities of Practice earlier this year, we have run over 60 sessions attended by hundreds of healthcare staff across our region.

East of England Cancer Alliance 'Transforming Care Through Genomics Event
The East of England Cancer Alliance Regional Genomic Clinical Practitioner Service are hosting an educational event on Friday 19 September in Cambridge: "Transforming Care Through Genomics – A Day of Insight, Inspiration, and Innovation".

Join our national Lunch & Learn series
Genomics is transforming healthcare - and it’s no longer a niche subject. From diagnosis to personalised treatment, genomic knowledge is becoming essential across all clinical roles.

Upcoming Genomics Communities of Practice meetings
Below we give a roundup upcoming meetings for our 16 Genomic Communities of Practice, which span cancers and rare and inherited conditions. Meetings will be added to this page on a rolling basis, as and when topics are confirmed and registration links go live.

CanRisk training for breast cancer
CanRisk is an online tool that enables healthcare professionals to calculate an individual's future risks of developing breast and ovarian cancer using cancer family history, genetic and other risk factors. CanRisk also calculates mutation carrier probabilities in breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility genes.

Referrals for familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) genomic testing
It is vital for us all to work together to ensure that the NHS genomic medicine service provides the most efficient and effective support for patients.

NHS Genomic Medicine Service Procurement Update
The NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) was launched by the Commissioner in 2018 and enables patients in the NHS in England to equitably access cutting edge genomic testing and clinical services that support diagnosis and treatment pathways for cancer, for rare and inherited disease and, in the application of pharmacogenomics, for medicines optimisation.

UK Government announce new 10 Year Plan for the NHS
On 3 July 2025, the Government published its 10 Year Health Plan for England, setting out ambitions for the NHS over the next 10 years.

Addenbrooke's patient first in Europe to receive treatment for rare genetic disease
Mary Catchpole will be able to take one tablet twice a day to control the effects of her illness

Taking the fear out of Down Syndrome
When Sarah-Jane gave birth to Hannah with Down Syndrome, almost eight years ago, it was a shock for her and her husband, Sean, but now looking back it turned out to be less frightening than she first felt it would be.

Important change to requesting diagnostic cancer genetic testing (inherited cancers)
The eligibility criteria for diagnostic cancer genetic testing have significantly broadened in recent years, which has many benefits for patients and clinicians. But it also means that the East Anglia Clinical Genetics Service (CGS) no longer has the capacity to facilitate this type of test.

Rare Chromosome Disorder Awareness Day 2025
Rare Chromosome Disorder Awareness Day 2025 is being observed on Thursday, 19 June 2025, bringing together families, advocates, and healthcare professionals to highlight the unique challenges and remarkable resilience of those living with rare chromosome and gene disorders.

Improving efficiency and appropriateness of genomic test requests
To ensure that patients continue to benefit from genomic testing in the current context of increased NHS financial pressures, it is important for us all to work together to maximise benefits for patients.

EVENT: Regional Midwives in Genetics and Genomics Network (RegMiGGs.net)
The next meeting of our Regional Midwives in Genetics and Genomics Network (RegMiGGs.net) takes place on Wednesday 16 July at 1pm.

Genetic blood tests could revolutionise cancer care
Liquid biopsy tests are now available for certain lung and breast cancers

New genetic test can diagnose brain tumours in as little as two hours
Scientists and medics have developed an ultra-rapid method of genetically diagnosing brain tumours that will cut the time it takes to classify them from 6-8 weeks, to as little as two hours – which could improve care for thousands of patients each year in the UK.

International Nurses Day 12 May 2025
Monday 12th May 2025 is International Nurses Day. Below we highlight the important role nurses play in genomic medicine, as well as some events and links to further information and support.

Newborn babies tested for over 200 genetic conditions as world-leading study begins at NNUH
Newborn babies can now be tested for over 200 rare genetic conditions as the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) joins a world-leading research study in NHS hospitals that aims to screen up to 100,000 newborns in England.