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The FDA will allow the genetic testing company 23andMe to offer information about three common BRCA mutations that can have an influence on breast cancer risk. According to the FDA, the test should not be used as a substitute for seeing a doctor:
The Food and Drug Administration for the first time has authorized a genetic testing company to offer screenings for three breast cancer mutations common in Ashkenazi Jews, giving consumers the ability to initiate testing at home and see results without talking to a doctor or counselor.
The agency's action on Tuesday permits the testing company, 23andMe, to report results as part of its $199 Health and Ancestry product, which uses DNA from saliva samples to inform customers about their families' countries of origin, along with information on genetic health risks. There will be no extra charge for the additional reports, which should be available in a few weeks to customers who actively opt in and request to see them, company officials said.
[...] But testing negative for the three mutations does not mean someone is in the clear, as there are over a thousand BRCA mutations associated with increased cancer risk. Some critics say that comprehensive genetic testing — an exhaustive analysis to detect all mutations associated with an increase in breast cancer risk — is preferable. Physicians, geneticists and policymakers have long been concerned that the enthusiasm over personalized medical information and genetic testing may place consumers who misunderstand or misinterpret results at risk of jeopardizing their health. Even for Jews of Ashkenazi descent, whose families originated in Eastern and Central Europe and who are most likely to test positive for the three mutations, testing negative is no panacea, as they may carry other mutations that increase cancer risk.
Also at STAT News, Reuters, and The Verge.
Related: FDA Permits Marketing of 23andMe Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Test
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FDA to Allow 23andMe to Sell Genetic Tests for Disease Risks
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 07 2018, @05:30PM (3 children)
From the moment of fertilization mutations start occurring in every living organism. The very first cell divisions display errors. Different groups display consistent and persistent error types.
The reason genetics and Jews keep being brought up is because Jews have a shit-ton of doctors, a fetish for genetic purity (no doubt inherited from their German ancestry) and way too much money to throw around on useless genetic surveys.
On a side-note, fun fact to troll the alt-right folks: Ashkenazi Jews have more German in them then the Brits. Really, there's like 30% German in the English and 40-60% (depends on the study) German in the western Ashkenazi Jews. Southern Ashkenazi Jews have a little less... In favor of Italian/Greek.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Wednesday March 07 2018, @07:51PM
Well, that's true for a very attenuated definition of "German" by which many actual "germans" would not be considered "German." By that standard, the most "German" nation is Poland IIRC.
That's one of the problems with these tests, everyone wants to read way more into the genes than are there, very much including the company promoting it. Way to much weight inevitably winds up being placed on structures that look good to the uninformed eye, but collapse under load. There is no "German gene." And somatic DNA is not a reliable indicator of deep ancestry, no matter how much you massage it and paint it up with marketing slogants.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 1) by milsorgen on Wednesday March 07 2018, @10:39PM (1 child)
Why would anyone give two thoughts to the amount of "German" Brits might have in them? What an odd thing to say really.
On the Oregon Coast, born and raised, On the beach is where I spent most of my days...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 08 2018, @01:32AM
Got any Irish in ya? Ya want some? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink!