Online ads for genetic cancer tests that promise to identify the best treatment “to kill your cancer” and match the “right drug to the right patient” may not be painting an accurate picture for consumers. Notably missing from many—relevant details of the tests’ limitations and evidence of their clinical benefit, a study finds.
As innovations geared toward personalized medicine proliferate, oncologists and medical geneticists say regulation is needed to rein in disproportionate claims. In the meantime, patients and clinicians should approach online claims with a critical eye.
“There are very important limitations that, in general, people should be aware of, but they are not widely reported on websites that market personalized cancer care,” said Dr. Stacy Gray of the department of medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. The challenges in genomic data interpretation, the possibility of tests not working and the potential of false positives, all fall into that category, she noted.
Gray is one of six authors of a new study that analyzed 55 websites that either marketed genetic cancer tests or offered interpretive services or personalized cancer care between December 2012 and January 2013. While 44 sites touted benefits such as the potential for personalized therapies and targeted treatments, less than one-third shared limitations.
“The paucity of genetic testing regulation may undermine high quality cancer care if unproven products are promoted,” the authors wrote in the study published Thursday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Government regulation of genetic testing remains limited, but the topic has elevated in priority in recent months.
Read full, original article: Genetic testing ads not telling the whole story, study finds
