How does genetic testing help doctors treat patients? How accurate are private companies like 23andMe? Does knowing your genetic risk help people lead healthier lives or is it just a waste of time and money? Sophie had a bunch of questions about how genetic testing is used in everyday medical practice and Chris was here to answer!

 

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Editor:    Robyn Flynn

Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl

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Chris’ book, Does Coffee Cause Cancer?: https://ecwpress.com/products/does-coffee-cause-cancer

 

Obviously, Chris is not your doctor (probably). This podcast is not medical advice for you; it is what we call information.

References:

1. Studies evaluating the accuracy of Direct to Consumer genetic testing companies:

   1. Ng PC, Murray SS, Levy S, Venter JC. An agenda for personalized medicine. Nature. 2009 Oct 8;461(7265):724-6. doi: 10.1038/461724a. PMID: 19812653.

   2. Imai K, Kricka LJ, Fortina P. Concordance study of 3 direct-to-consumer genetic-testing services. Clin Chem. 2011 Mar;57(3):518-21. doi: 10.1373/clinchem.2010.158220. 

2. Studies looking at how knowing the results of genetic testing affect medical treatment and lifestyle factors.

   1. Mega JL, et al. Genetic risk, coronary heart disease events, and the clinical benefit of statin therapy: an analysis of primary and secondary prevention trials. Lancet. 2015 Jun 6;385(9984):2264-2271. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61730-X

   2. Khera AV, Emdin CA, Drake I, Natarajan P, Bick AG, Cook NR, Chasman DI, Baber U, Mehran R, Rader DJ, Fuster V, Boerwinkle E, Melander O, Orho-Melander M, Ridker PM, Kathiresan S. Genetic Risk, Adherence to a Healthy Lifestyle, and Coronary Disease. N Engl J Med. 2016 Dec 15;375(24):2349-2358. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1605086. 

3. The Cochrane review and MI-GENES study which showed that genetic information did not change lifestyle behavior

   1. Hollands GJ, French DP, Griffin SJ, Prevost AT, Sutton S, King S, Marteau TM. The impact of communicating genetic risks of disease on risk-reducing health behaviour: systematic review with meta-analysis. BMJ. 2016 Mar 15;352:i1102. doi: 10.1136/bmj.i1102. 

   2. Kullo IJ, et al. Incorporating a Genetic Risk Score Into Coronary Heart Disease Risk Estimates: Effect on Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels (the MI-GENES Clinical Trial). Circulation. 2016 Mar 22;133(12):1181-8. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.020109