There is a new test for colon cancer from a company called 23andMe. A lot of people have heard of the company because it’s one of the leaders in a field that’s exploding — direct-to-consumer genetic testing. The new test looks for a fairly rare gene that could put you at risk for colon cancer. What a lot of people may not realize is that a lot of other genes carry risk for colon cancer, so if you take this test, you still may have risk.
According to Wendy Kohlmann, Genetic Counselor at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, “The test that they are offering looks for a very specific genetic condition associated with a high risk of colon cancer. The specific gene they are looking for is called MUTYH. People have two copies of each gene, and if you have a mutation on both copies of this gene, it is associated with polyps in the colon and a high risk of cancer,” says Kohlmann.
Read More“If things like 23andMe are getting people to think about their health and their family history then that’s a great thing,” she says, “so it’s not like we have any particular issue with 23andMe, it’s just that we want people to know that this is really a snapshot of the information that is available.”
According to Rachel Webster, Genetic Counselor at MD Anderson Cancer Center, “Direct-to-consumer genetic testing can be a very useful tool for some individuals. That said, having someone take a look at your history and your family history is a very useful tool in figuring out if a direct-to-consumer test would identify the risk in your family. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all test as much as direct-to-consumer testing options have tried to build those.”
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