Genetic testing: too much of a good thing?

May 6, 2008

Genetic testing is a great tool for detecting genes for diseases such as Parkinson’s, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Currently there are over 1,200 genetic tests available, some of which can be performed in the comfort of your own home. But how reliable are these tests, and what will happen with the information derived from them?

Addressing the latter question, President Bush is expected to sign into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act that Congress passed last week. This act ensures that a person’s genetic information cannot be used against them by employers or insurers. This is a good first step in addressing some of the legal and privacy issues surrounding genetic testing.

But what of the tests’ usefulness? A positive genetic test for a disease does not necessarily mean that a person will develop the disease, just as a negative test does not mean they are completely safe, since most diseases are caused by a combination of multiple genes and environmental factors. The general public isn’t well enough informed to be able to interpret the test results that they get and don’t know the proper questions to ask their doctors. In addition, laboratories are marketing genetic tests for certain gene mutations before scientists can prove how risky they are.

Genetic testing remains a good prospect in preventing disease, but until there is more oversight on the tests with respect to their validity and usefulness, maybe we should take genetic testing off drugstore shelves.

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