Many Genetic Tests Offered to Consumers Over the Internet are Misleading and of No Practical Use
GAO Gives Congress a Poor Report on Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Tests Sold by Web-Based Companies
According to the Wall Street Journal, Direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests from the four companies 23andMe, Navigenics, deCODE genetics, and Pathway Genomics Corp, are generating results “that are misleading and of little or no practical use.” This was the finding of the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) in its recently released report.
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will be interested to know that the GAO sent multiple specimens to these four companies—each of which is organized to sell genetic tests and molecular diagnostics directly to consumers via the Internet. The GAO determined that, even when given identical DNA samples, the tests from these four companies yielded contradictory results.
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