First UK baby selected to be born without the gene which causes breast cancer doing very well

The birth is the first of its type to take place in the UK. Women who carry this form of genetic variation have an 80 per cent chance of developing breast cancer and a 60 per cent chance of developing ovarian cancer during their lifetime. In addition, BRCA1 carriers have a 50 per cent chance of passing on this anomaly to each of their children.

Mr Paul Serhal, Honorary UCLH Consultant/UCL Lecturer and Medical Director of the Assisted Conception Unit, commented: “This little girl will not face the spectre of developing this genetic form of breast cancer or ovarian cancer in her adult life. The parents will have been spared the risk of inflicting this disease on their daughter. The lasting legacy is the eradication of the transmission of this form of cancer that has blighted these families for generations.”

Patients who are offered this form of diagnosis have devastating family histories of serious illness and early deaths due to breast and ovarian cancers.

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) involves undertaking an In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment cycle in order to have a number of embryos available for specific genetic testing. PGD provides information regarding the genetic status of the embryo, to be known prior to conception. It has the added advantage of avoiding the potential dilemma and physical and emotional trauma of undergoing a termination of an affected pregnancy.

Scientists and doctors at the Assisted Conception Unit and the PGD group at the UCL Institute for Women’s Health have pioneered and successfully applied this technology for avoiding transmission of cancer predispositions in a whole host of cancers. This includes a genetic form of bowel cancer (APC) and a genetic form of cancer of the retina (retinoblastoma).

Professor Ian Jacobs, Director of the UCL Institute for Women’s Health, added: “This is a wonderful example of what can be achieved for individual people and families by outstanding scientists, researchers and clinicians in the university and NHS working closely together as a collaborative team.”

Cancer charities said the birth raises "complex" issues. Dr Sarah Cant, policy manager at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "The decision to screen embryos to see whether they have a faulty breast cancer gene is a complex and very personal issue. "Women with a family history of breast cancer tell us that what might be right for one person may not be right for another. "It's important for anyone affected to have appropriate information and support so they can make the right choice for them."