You Can Now Order an At-Home Genetic Test for Breast Cancer. But Should You?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first at-home genetic test for breast cancer genes, opening the door to the next stage in personalized DIY medicine. But how reliable—and how useful—are the results going to be? Because it is FDA-approved, the technology behind the 23andMe test, and the results it provides, are valid and scientifically sound. But interpreting what those results mean, positive or negative, for every person who orders it is another matter. The test is part of 23andMe’s $199 spit kit that mostly analyzes DNA from saliva for ancestry information. People who want their DNA to be tested for the breast cancer genes must select that option when sending in their sample. The breast cancer test looks at three specific versions of genes known to contribute to a higher risk of breast cancer, called BRCA1 and BRCA2. But there are more than 1,000 variants of these genes that can increase breast cancer risk anywhere from 45% to 65%, which means that a negative result doesn’t necessarily mean a person has a low risk of developing cancer. “My concern is that if an individual does this test without checking with their health care provider and gets a negative result, that it will give them false reassurance,” says Dr. Banu Arun, co-director of the clinical cancer genetics program at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She points out that the three variants in the 23andMe test are most common among a very specific subset of the popula...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Cancer healthytime Source Type: news