This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (35)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Genetics  • Genetic Counseling/ Testing/ Therapy  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

H. Gilbert Welch, MD, MPH; Wylie Burke, MD, PhD

JAMA. 1998;280:1525-1527.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Sequencing an individual's DNA seems destined to become an increasingly prominent part of medical care. Once a genetic alteration has been identified and characterized by researchers, testing for it is relatively simple, requiring only white blood cells obtained via a routine blood draw. Because so many diseases are influenced by heredity, investigators are likely to identify numerous alterations associated with illness in the human genome. In the past, genetic testing concerned the next generation: decisions about whether to have a child (eg, Tay-Sachs disease, cystic fibrosis, and Down syndrome) and screening of newborns (eg, phenylketonuria and sickle cell anemia).

Increasingly, genetic testing now concerns the current generation: testing ourselves for susceptibility to chronic disease. This domain includes more common conditions (eg, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer) and a future has been promised in which medicine's emphasis will be shifted from treatment . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Uncertainty About Who Will Develop Disease

Population-Based Risk Estimates Should Be Obtained Before Acting on Genetic Data

Knowledge About Surveillance (and Treatment) Strategies Must Be Rigorously Defined

Untoward Effects Must Be Considered, Even Though They Are Difficult to Measure

From the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, White River Junction, Vt (Dr Welch), and the University of Washington, Seattle (Dr Burke).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Knowing me, knowing you
Lenzer and Brownlee
BMJ 2008;336:858-860.
FULL TEXT  

Pediatric Psychology Training and Genetics: What Will Twenty-First-Century Pediatric Psychologists Need to Know?
Patenaude
J Pediatr Psychol 2003;28:135-145.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Genetic Testing
Burke
NEJM 2002;347:1867-1875.
FULL TEXT  

Mismatch Repair Genes hMLH1 and hMSH2 and Colorectal Cancer: A HuGE Review
Mitchell et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2002;156:885-902.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Limitations of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising for Clinical Genetic Testing
Gollust et al.
JAMA 2002;288:1762-1767.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Gene testing in the biotech century: Are physicians ready?
Caulfield
CMAJ 1999;161:1122-1124.
FULL TEXT  

Avoiding the Unintended Consequences of Growth in Medical Care: How Might More Be Worse?
Fisher and Welch
JAMA 1999;281:446-453.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Risk Communication in Clinical Practice: Putting Cancer in Context
Schwartz et al.
J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 1999;1999:124-133.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Is There a Use for Tailored Print Communications in Cancer Risk Communication?
Rimer and Glassman
J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 1999;1999:140-148.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT