DNA testing for diseases offered in London

LONDON, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Genetic tests that can detect a person's increased risk of breast, ovarian and prostate cancer are being offered in England, officials said.

The Times of London reported Saturday that the genetic screenings are being offered for the first time to individuals without family histories of the diseases.

The program, run by the University College London, paves the way for a new approach to preventative medicine and embryo screening by parents.

News of the program came as Paul Serhal, medical director at University College Hospital's Assisted Conception Unit, announced the birth of one of the world's first babies selected to be free of a genetic risk of breast cancer.

The Times reported that the baby girl was born after embryos were screened to exclude the faulty BRCA1 gene, which gives a woman an 80 percent chance of developing breast cancer in her lifetime.

The University College London program is focusing on the London community of Ashkenazi Jews, who have a high risk of inheriting BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which raise the risk of breast and prostate cancers.