Ethical and legal aspects of cancer genetic testing.
As a result of the increasing effectiveness of cancer screening and preventive interventions, ethical issues, as well as legal liabilities, are increasingly associated with cancer genetic testing. These issues include the possible "duty to warn" relatives of inherited cancer risk, the appropriateness of testing of children and embryos, equity of access to genetics services, and potential harms of testing including the risk of genetic discrimination. An approach to these and other ethical challenges will be presented, drawing not only on recent case law but also on a broader bioethical framework.
Offit
Kenneth
K
Clinical Genetics Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA. offitk@mskcc.org
Thom
Peter
P
D030881:Disclosure; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005817:Genetic Counseling; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D033142:Genetic Services; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D033161:Government Regulation; D006801:Humans; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000941:ethics*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*