Home cancer screening tests may cause more harm than good
Just because you can doesn't mean you should, an NBC News editorialist said regarding the FDA's latest approval of an at-home cancer screening kit requiring zero assistance from a doctor.
Earlier this month, the FDA approved the first direct-to-consumer genetic testing kits for three rare BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genetic mutations known to raise the risk of breast cancer in women and to a lesser degree in men among those of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, as well as an increased risk of ovarian cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.
However, author David Ropeik explained that test may do more damage than good. Knowing you may have an increased risk of cancer but not an actual cancer diagnosis could potentially lead to "cancerphobia," which, as the article describes, is being "driven by fear to opt for drugs or surgery or other risky treatments that the condition might not warrant."
Nonetheless, the at-home test is geared toward a narrow population because most cancers are not reliant on mutated inherited genes, according to the article.
"Given our deep societal fear of any kind of cancer, the common knowledge that finding cancer as early as possible is the most effective way to fight it and the growing popularity of genetic testing in general (for ancestry and health information), demand for over-the-counter genetic tests for all sorts of cancers is sure to rise," Ropeik wrote. "The FDA action on the BRCA 1 and 2 mutations has opened this door."
Read the full article below:
A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.