How does this relate to whole genome sequencing?
First blood test for dozens of hereditary cancers approved by FDA
81–90 of 127 posts
Re: First blood test for dozens of hereditary cancers approved by FDA
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
It explicitly is not, thanks to the GINA act.
I feel like GINA act is superseded by the ACA barring pre existing health conditions as a pricing or qualification criteria. It is crazy that people still comment as if a health insurance company in the US can deny or price insurance based on healthiness. It’s been over a decade since anyone would have been asked for anything but age/location/smoking status when getting health insurance.
You still get asked smoking status on the exchange. It affects subsidy levels. * edit to say, I think it actually asks about tobacco use, not specifically smoking. But the point remains.
That said, most people know absolutely nothing about health insurance or health care in the US beyond the memes.
Re: First blood test for dozens of hereditary cancers approved by FDA
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
In what way is any of that actionable? Are there specific recommendations besides "eat right, exercise, don't smoke"? Sounds like something that could just induce anxiety.
As a specific example, this includes BRCA1/2 mutation testing, mutations that are strongly associated with breast and ovarian cancer. Actionable outcomes from a positive result could go from something as small as getting more frequent screenings up to something like prophylactic mastectomy and/or oophorectomy.
If this is a DNA test why does it need to use blood instead of saliva or cheek scraping?
Re: First blood test for dozens of hereditary cancers approved by FDA
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
The comment you've replied to is about the Galleri test by Grail. It tests for early _detection_ of cancer, not likelihood of cancer. Meaning, you _have_ cancer. Knowing you have cancer (hopefully early) is actionable...
You would think so, but when I brought the information pamphlet to my GP (who does blood work in office and took 2 vials for other tests at the same visit) and told her I am happy to pay the $1k out of pocket, she took a couple of weeks to research it, but couldn't find a way to prescribe it in the hospital system. Since it is a prestigious research hospital, she even found clinical trials ongoing and tried to get me…
You can do this via Galleri web site where a doctor will prescribe it for you.
It's also weird that your doctor would be worried that insurance won't cover the costs of cancer being detected early. Saving money in this situation is not something that is on the top of my mind. Worst case I incur debt and then declare bankruptcy if I survive.
Re: First blood test for dozens of hereditary cancers approved by FDA
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a specific example, this includes BRCA1/2 mutation testing, mutations that are strongly associated with breast and ovarian cancer. Actionable outcomes from a positive result could go from something as small as getting more frequent screenings up to something like prophylactic mastectomy and/or oophorectomy.
If this is a DNA test why does it need to use blood instead of saliva or cheek scraping?
> Since WGS technology has no PCR enrichment of targeted regions, non-human contamination has a higher impact on overall sample quality metrics and can cause higher sample failure rates in Saliva and Buccal specimens. Therefore, blood is the preferred specimen for the Invitae Exome, when available.
Re: First blood test for dozens of hereditary cancers approved by FDA
#86For clarification, it tests for 47 genes which are associated with increased risk of cancer. It doesn’t help tell you whether or not you have cancer, in contrast to blood tests like Galleri, which can do that. 0: https://www.galleri.com/
In what way is any of that actionable? Are there specific recommendations besides "eat right, exercise, don't smoke"? Sounds like something that could just induce anxiety.
Well if you have the FAP (Familial Adenomatous Polyposis) gene then the action is to get your colon removed during adolescence, 20 years before you certainly die of colon cancer. The recovery is much easier at 15 than at 35.
Re: First blood test for dozens of hereditary cancers approved by FDA
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
You would think so, but when I brought the information pamphlet to my GP (who does blood work in office and took 2 vials for other tests at the same visit) and told her I am happy to pay the $1k out of pocket, she took a couple of weeks to research it, but couldn't find a way to prescribe it in the hospital system. Since it is a prestigious research hospital, she even found clinical trials ongoing and tried to get me…
You can do this via Galleri web site where a doctor will prescribe it for you. It's also weird that your doctor would be worried that insurance won't cover the costs of cancer being detected early. Saving money in this situation is not something that is on the top of my mind. Worst case I incur debt and then declare bankruptcy if I survive.
Insurance unlikely to reimburse you, but its not prohibitively expensive. Some top tier employers like McKinsey cover the costs for employees over the age of 40.
Re: First blood test for dozens of hereditary cancers approved by FDA
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
I feel like GINA act is superseded by the ACA barring pre existing health conditions as a pricing or qualification criteria. It is crazy that people still comment as if a health insurance company in the US can deny or price insurance based on healthiness. It’s been over a decade since anyone would have been asked for anything but age/location/smoking status when getting health insurance.
You still get asked smoking status on the exchange. It affects subsidy levels. * edit to say, I think it actually asks about tobacco use, not specifically smoking. But the point remains. That said, most people know absolutely nothing about health insurance or health care in the US beyond the memes.
That is what I meant, legally, health insurance companies can only take into account your age/location/tobacco use in their premium pricing, hence that is all they ask you.
Re: First blood test for dozens of hereditary cancers approved by FDA
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
In what way is any of that actionable? Are there specific recommendations besides "eat right, exercise, don't smoke"? Sounds like something that could just induce anxiety.
Well if you have the FAP (Familial Adenomatous Polyposis) gene then the action is to get your colon removed during adolescence, 20 years before you certainly die of colon cancer. The recovery is much easier at 15 than at 35.
I just went and read about that and now I’m never complaining about anything ever again.
Re: First blood test for dozens of hereditary cancers approved by FDA
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
You still get asked smoking status on the exchange. It affects subsidy levels. * edit to say, I think it actually asks about tobacco use, not specifically smoking. But the point remains. That said, most people know absolutely nothing about health insurance or health care in the US beyond the memes.
That is what I meant, legally, health insurance companies can only take into account your age/location/tobacco use in their premium pricing, hence that is all they ask you.
Ahh, sorry, I misread your post. Thought you were saying they couldn’t because it was pre-existing.
My bad, and your larger point was still correct.