Professor Risteárd Ó Laoide:

I thank the Deputy for the question. Medical diagnostics and genomic medicines are critical in the modern delivery of cancer care. Medical diagnostics are important because they identify somatic mutations in tumours and biomarkers, which predict a response to drugs. This is commonly known as precision oncology and is routinely incorporated into clinical decision-making. The majority of newly approved cancer drugs are required to be accompanied by a comparison molecular diagnostic test.

The cancer strategy suggested we put in place a national implementation framework for molecular diagnostic testing so it is provided in a co-ordinated and standardised way. To date, the investment has not been put in place for molecular diagnostics, although we in the NCCP have set up a framework to look at molecular diagnostics as it relates to drugs and the provision of drugs, where the test is important in deciding whether the drugs should be given to a patient. Some of this testing is currently done in Beaumont Hospital and St. James's Hospital but there are a number of other centres doing molecular diagnostic testing. The NCCP is focused on putting a framework in place so we have a network which optimises the provision of these molecular diagnostics because they change quickly. Five years ago, a patient would go for one molecular diagnostic test, while now there are panels of 50 such tests being performed in some departments.

It is important that we put a framework in place for molecular diagnostics. This is something we are going to do this year coming. Professor Maeve Lowery chairs our cancer molecular diagnostics advisory group in the national cancer control programme. We have put a framework in place to decide which molecular diagnostic test should be done. This is tied in with our drug approval process also.