Aggregated News
A new report makes recommendations for policy makers on the regulation of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing in the European Union.
The work is the outcome of a first joint project between the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) and the Federation of European Academies of Medicine (FEAM), two bodies tasked with fostering cooperation between the scientific academies of EU member states and providing consensus advice to policy makers.
Recent rapid advances in DNA analysis have led to a growth in DTC genetic tests available via the internet, raising many scientific and ethical questions and leading to potential confusion and distress for consumers.
The report cautions that current DTC genetic testing has little clinical value and advises against its use, particularly for serious highly-penetrant disorders, for the purposes of nutrigenomic and pharmacogenetic testing, and for prenatal screening and the testing of minors.
It emphasises that in order for a test to have any utility, quality standards in many areas need to be met. In particular, the claimed link between a genetic marker and a disease must be proven and the test’s...
The work is the outcome of a first joint project between the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) and the Federation of European Academies of Medicine (FEAM), two bodies tasked with fostering cooperation between the scientific academies of EU member states and providing consensus advice to policy makers.
Recent rapid advances in DNA analysis have led to a growth in DTC genetic tests available via the internet, raising many scientific and ethical questions and leading to potential confusion and distress for consumers.
The report cautions that current DTC genetic testing has little clinical value and advises against its use, particularly for serious highly-penetrant disorders, for the purposes of nutrigenomic and pharmacogenetic testing, and for prenatal screening and the testing of minors.
It emphasises that in order for a test to have any utility, quality standards in many areas need to be met. In particular, the claimed link between a genetic marker and a disease must be proven and the test’s...