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Would Routine Genomic Testing For Cancer And Heart Risk Make Economic Sense?
If all adults were to have their genes sequenced during their annual physicals this year, the vast majority of us would not learn anything that would change our medical routines going forward. But an estimated 1% of Americans—at least 3 million people—would find genetic abnormalities that greatly raise their risk of cancer or heart disease. And that, says Yale School of Medicine genetics expert Michael Murray, would make all of that testing worth it, not only to those individuals, but to society as a whole.
Even if each person had just 10 genes tested, the benefits would outweigh the costs, argues Murray, who wrote an article published today in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine that urges health systems to embrace routine genomic testing. That’s because such testing would reveal “actionable” gene mutations—well-known risks for diseases that can be avoided with specific screening or prevention methods.
Source: Forbes