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Cancer Genetic Susceptibility Testing: Ethical and Policy Implications for Future Research and Clinical Practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Benjamin S. Wilfond ,
Karen H. Rothenberg ,
Elizabeth J. Thomson  and
Caryn Lerman
Benjamin S. Wilfond
Affiliation:
Cancer Genetic Studies Consortium, National Institutes of Health
Karen H. Rothenberg
Affiliation:
Cancer Genetic Studies Consortium, National Institutes of Health
Elizabeth J. Thomson
Affiliation:
Cancer Genetic Studies Consortium, National Institutes of Health
Caryn Lerman
Affiliation:
Cancer Genetic Studies Consortium, National Institutes of Health
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Extract

Genetic testing for cancer susceptibility is an application of biotechnology that has the potential both to improve the psychosocial and physical wellbeing of the population and to cause significant psychosocia1 and physical harms. In spite of the uncertain value of genetic testing, it has captured the interest of biotechnology companies, researchers, health care providers, and the public. As more tests become feasible, pressure may increase to make the tests available and reimbursable. Both the benefits and harms of these tests lie not as much in the tests themselves, as in their power to predict or alter the future. The value of the tests does not derive from the information per se, but from the ability to communicate effectively the information to patients and providers, and the behavioral responses of patients, providers, and others to this information.

Type
Article
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 25 , Issue 4 , Winter 1997 , pp. 243 - 251
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 1997

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