This week has seen another FDA meeting seeking guidance on how to regulate direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests in the US. The meeting itself has been covered by GNZ bloggers Daniel at Genetic Future and Dan at Genomics Law Report, and its apparent outcome has sparked furious debate elsewhere. The discussion among the “independent” panel convened at the meeting appeared to converge on the proposal that all health-related genomic tests should be ordered and reported through physicians. However, the outcomes of the meeting in terms of FDA policy remain unclear, and one FDA official has indicated that decisions about the availability of genetic tests will be made on a test-by-test basis.
There is no doubt that the appropriate regulation of personal genomics tests is a complex issue, and there is a diversity of opinion about how best to achieve it within GNZ (as there is throughout the genomics community). However, there are several points we agree on:
- Individuals have a fundamental right to access information about themselves, including genetic information. While it is important to also consider the accuracy, interpretation, validity and utility of tests, this underlying principle should guide policy.
- There is currently no evidence that DTC genetic tests pose a danger to consumers. A recent study of over 2,000 participants in DTC testing concluded that “testing did not result in any measurable short-term changes in psychological health”. In the absence of any evidence of harm there is no justification for restricting individual autonomy.
- DNA does not have magical powers, and does not require special treatment simply by virtue of being DNA. Genetic exceptionalism – the idea that genetics must be treated as special under the law – is an inappropriate basis for policy-making. Tests should be regulated appropriately based on their predictive power, utility and potential for harm, all of which are related concepts.
- As DNA sequencing becomes cheaper, the line between medical and non-medical testing will continue to blur. Excessive regulation of health-related genetic tests could also unncessarily hinder the ability of people to access their entire genome sequences for other purposes (such as genetic genealogy).
- Most clinicians do not have the appropriate knowledge to interpret genomic tests, particularly in healthy individuals. This point is almost universally agreed, even by the FDA, and has certainly been the experience of some of the GNZ members upon taking our genetic results to doctors. Physicians in general are therefore a strange choice for ‘guardians of the genome’.
- Most early adopters of DTC genetic tests are sufficiently well-informed to understand the implications of a genomic test and interpret the results correctly. Putting a general physician between these informed individuals and their own genomes is paternalistic and unnecessary.
While the outcome of the FDA’s deliberations remain uncertain, it is clear that there will be intensive lobbying against any attempt at excessive legislation. In the worst case scenario, the fledgling and innovative personal genomics market could be crushed by the FDA. However, there is still plenty of room for a measured approach that enforces test accuracy, punishes false claims and promotes informed choices by consumers, without reducing the ability of responsible companies to continue to operate and innovate.
We urge others in the genomics community to make their voices heard on these issues. Let the FDA – and, if you’re based in the USA, your political representatives – know that regulation of genetic testing should be based on evidence, not fear, and that any attempt to unreasonably restrict your access to your own genetic information is unacceptable.
The ongoing debate about whether, what, when and how to feedback incidental findings (IFs) from whole genome sequencing continues to rage on both sides of the Atlantic following the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics’ controversial recommendations on reporting IFs released last month. In an unexpected twist, the authors of the guidance have now written “a clarification” in response to the many criticisms that have been raised including here on GenomesUnzipped. The clarification covers five points – autonomy, children, labs, communication and interpretation.
By now, we’re probably all familiar with Niels Bohr’s famous quote that “prediction is very difficult, especially about the future”. Although Bohr’s experience was largely in quantum physics, the same problem is true in human genetics. Despite a plethora of genetic variants associated with disease – with frequencies ranging from ultra-rare to commonplace, and effects ranging from protective to catastrophic – variants where we can accurately predict the severity, onset and clinical implications are still few and far between. Phenotypic heterogeneity is the norm even for many rare Mendelian variants, and despite the heritable nature of many common diseases, genomic prediction is rarely good enough to be clinically useful.
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