Intent

This blog is intended as a resource for those people who have been touched by ovarian cancer

Saturday, 27 April 2019

A moral dilemma, to tell or not to tell.




Had a genetic test? You should be told if its implications change

People often expect genetic results to be certain, but sometimes this isn’t the case. Our understanding can change even for variants in well-known genes like BRCA1: some of these have turned out not to be as closely linked to cancer as we thought a few years ago.

What should happen in situations like this? Should people be re-contacted if interpretation of their genetic results changes? Professional guidance on this matter comes from the European Society of Human Genetics.

There are no standardized criteria, practices or systems in place for re-contacting to occur. There is however a moral and legal right to know


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