3793 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health

3793 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health: What progress has been made in the last quarter (October to December 2023) to ‘Provide services to support people who have a familial risk of cancer through identification and monitoring’ under Outcome 4: New Zealanders have better cancer survival, supportive care and end-of-life care, as part of the New Zealand Cancer Action Plan 2019 – 2029?

Hon Dr Shane Reti: I am advised that Te Aho o Te Kahu – Cancer Control Agency has engaged with the Genetic Health Service New Zealand and identified a range of challenges, notably a need for a database with ability to identify families sharing the same genetic variant and the ability to conduct national analysis to inform understanding of familial cancer and improve outcomes. Te Aho o Te Kahu is currently working to scope the expansion of the CanShare cancer data platform to allow the timely sharing of relevant and accurate cancer genetics data to support clinicians with up-to-date information to inform decision making.