Posted on 01/18/2008 2:10:10 PM PST by neverdem
WASHINGTON — The science of genetic tests is marching ahead and so are efforts to sell them directly to consumers who are willing to send in a check and a bit of saliva to learn whether they are at risk for a disease.
What is not keeping up is regulation and oversight, according to a federal advisory panel. The panel concluded that a growing number of the tests are being marketed with claims that are unproved, ambiguous, false or misleading.
Millions of people have already taken the tests, a relatively new tool that even many doctors have yet to master. Test results can provide information to help prevent, detect and treat hundreds of conditions including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, cystic fibrosis and blood disorders.
The results can lead to momentous decisions. For example, women with a family history of breast cancer rely on them in deciding whether to have surgery to remove breasts or ovaries as a preventive measure.
With use of the tests growing at an explosive rate, the panel concluded that patients could be harmed. In most cases, the tests do not pose a direct physical risk; but, the panel said, if a test is inaccurate, patients may be given risky, unnecessary treatments or denied treatments that would be highly beneficial.
In addition, the panel said, most doctors lack the training and expertise needed to interpret genetic tests, and many are unfamiliar with professional guidelines for their use. Although professional societies play an important role in making sure their members get up-to-date information, the panel said, “they cannot keep up with the pace of development of genetic tests.”
While the report does not focus on the ethical and social consequences of genetic testing, it does note that companies now market many tests directly to consumers, bypassing doctors, a...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Mustn’t let the sheeple get the notion that they can manage and pay for their own medical care. < /s>
Wouldn't it be nice if the NYT were to acknowledge that the current crop of Democratic presidential wanna-be's is being marketed in exactly the same way...
Researchers Challenge Water-Flow Model
FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.
Just test, understand, and throw the damned thing away --simple.
I guess bureacrats won't rest until that's all gone. I guess you have to be an illegal alien or degenerate b4 you can have medical privacy...
Thanks neverdem.
Heaven forbid!!
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