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- Health News
- Which tests already exist, and which ones are serious?
- Who should be tested for cancer risk?
- What does a gene analysis really say?
- What to consider before a test
- Where to find help
Health News
The mastectomy of actress Angelina Jolie made headlines around the world a few weeks ago: she had been diagnosed with genetic testing as likely to develop a particularly dangerous form of breast cancer.
This tumor is very rare, only in five percent of affected women, a harmful gene can be identified as a trigger. For all others, various causes of the disease are suspected, the family history is only one possible factor among many. This also applies to other serious conditions such as diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, prostate and skin cancer, Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. We know what tests there are - and what they bring.
Which tests already exist, and which ones are serious?
So far, only a few gene analyzes have been recognized by health insurers: for example, certain forms of breast and ovarian cancer, some forms of colon cancer, the tendency to thrombosis, and the rare iron-storage disease and the even rarer Huntington's disease. In pregnancy, the embryo can be used to test hereditary diseases such as cystic fibrosis or muscle wasting. If one of these diseases occurs significantly more frequently in the family, the health insurance company will cover the costs of counseling and genetic testing .
Beware of the countless offers on the Internet: Whether paternity, hair loss, cancer, "warrior gene" or hereditary diseases in pets - such investigations are expensive and certainly dubious. Also offered in pharmacies and by some doctors genetic test for the determination of the risk of osteoporosis is rejected by experts. More genes are involved in the development of bone loss than are being tested in the test.
Who should be tested for cancer risk?
When cancer has been found to be conspicuous in one's own family. For breast or ovarian cancer, this means: If three or more close relatives have it, or two are ill and one of them is less than 51 years old. In colorectal cancer: if several relatives are affected or one has developed a malignant tumor before the age of 45. Otherwise, even if cancer occurs only sporadically in a family, all members should take the screening tests particularly important. Also useful is a genetic test, if more thromboses have occurred.
What does a gene analysis really say?
100% predictions are not tested. It merely indicates a probability with which the disease can occur - but does not necessarily have to. Example cancer: Even a negative test result does not mean that tumors can not form elsewhere in the body. The most important protection is still: to live as healthy as possible and to take care of all precautionary appointments.
What to consider before a test
The knowledge of a future disease risk can overshadow all other life. Particularly sensitive are genetic tests during pregnancy, which should clarify whether an unborn child has a predisposition to a genetic disease such as Down's syndrome in itself. A positive test result will make the expectant parents wonder if they want to end the pregnancy. But all others must live with the findings and set the course for their future.
Where to find help
If you want to get advice on whether a genetic test might be advisable for you or for family members, you can find addresses of counseling centers in your area at the Berufsverband Deutscher Humangenetiker: www.bvdh.de
