Editing Genetic testing (section)

===Controversy===
DTC genetic testing has been controversial due to outspoken opposition within the medical community. Critics of DTC genetic testing argue against the risks involved in several steps of the testing process, such as the unregulated advertising and [[marketing claim]]s, the potential reselling of genetic data to third parties, and the overall lack of governmental oversight.<ref name="pmid18494080">{{cite journal | vauthors = Audeh MW | title = Letting the genome out of the bottle | journal = The New England Journal of Medicine | volume = 358 | issue = 20 | pages = 2184–5; author reply 2185 | date = May 2008 | pmid = 18494080 | doi = 10.1056/nejmc086053 }}</ref><ref name="pmid18184955">{{cite journal | vauthors = Hunter DJ, Khoury MJ, Drazen JM | title = Letting the genome out of the bottle--will we get our wish? | journal = The New England Journal of Medicine | volume = 358 | issue = 2 | pages = 105–107 | date = January 2008 | pmid = 18184955 | doi = 10.1056/NEJMp0708162 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Thiebes S, Toussaint PA, Ju J, Ahn JH, Lyytinen K, Sunyaev A | title = Valuable Genomes: Taxonomy and Archetypes of Business Models in Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing | journal = Journal of Medical Internet Research | volume = 22 | issue = 1 | pages = e14890 | date = January 2020 | pmid = 31961329 | pmc = 7001042 | doi = 10.2196/14890 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Onstwedder |first1=Suzanne Maria |last2=Jansen |first2=Marleen Elizabeth |last3=Cornel |first3=Martina Cornelia |last4=Rigter |first4=Tessel |date=2024-07-17 |title=Policy Guidance for Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Services: Framework Development Study |url=https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e47389 |journal=Journal of Medical Internet Research |language=en |volume=26 |pages=e47389 |doi=10.2196/47389 |doi-access=free |pmid=39018558 |issn=1438-8871|pmc=11292153 }}</ref>

DTC genetic testing involves many of the same risks associated with any genetic test. One of the more obvious and dangerous of these is the possibility of misreading of test results. Without professional guidance, consumers can potentially misinterpret genetic information, causing them to be deluded about their personal health.

Some advertising for DTC genetic testing has been criticized as conveying an exaggerated and inaccurate message about the connection between genetic information and disease risk, utilizing emotions as a selling factor. An advertisement for a [[BRCA mutation|BRCA]]-predictive genetic test for breast cancer stated: "There is no stronger antidote for fear than information."<ref>Gollust et al., [http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/288/14/1762#REF-JSC20258-14 "Limitations of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising for Clinical Genetic Testing,"] JAMA.2002; 288: 1762-1767</ref> Apart from rare diseases that are directly caused by specific, single-gene mutation, diseases "have complicated, multiple genetic links that interact strongly with personal environment, lifestyle, and behavior."<ref>{{cite magazine | vauthors = Nisbet MC |date=2019 |title=DNA Is Not Destiny: Challenging the Hype over Genetic Testing |magazine=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=28–30}}</ref>

[[Ancestry.com]], a company providing DTC DNA tests for [[genealogy]] purposes, has reportedly allowed the [[warrantless search]] of their database by police investigating a murder.<ref>Ronald Bailey, [http://reason.com/blog/2015/05/06/ancestrycom-hands-over-client-dna-test-r " Ancestry.com Hands Over Client DNA Test Results to Cops Without a Warrant"] Reason.com</ref> The warrantless search led to a search warrant to force the gathering of a DNA sample from a New Orleans filmmaker; however he turned out not to be a match for the suspected killer.<ref>{{cite web | author = Jim Mustian | url = http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/news/11707192-123/new-orleans-filmmaker-cleared-in | title = New Orleans filmmaker cleared in cold-case murder; false positive highlights limitations of familial DNA searching | work = The New Orleans Advocate | access-date = 2015-05-06 | archive-date = 2016-07-11 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160711001920/http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/news/11707192-123/new-orleans-filmmaker-cleared-in | url-status = dead }}</ref>