By Margaret Waltz, PhD, R. Jean Cadigan, PhD, Anya E. R. Prince, JD, MPP, Debra Skinner, PhD, and Gail E. Henderson, PhD
Age is an important consideration in medical screening, but calls for population based preventive genomic screening programs do not mention an upper age limit. Should such programs employ upper age limits, as occurs in other clinical screenings, on the assumption that older individuals would not benefit clinically? To address this question, our Genetics in Medicine paper analyzed data from GeneScreen, a research study of preventive genomic screening aimed at adults. We focused on how the researchers who designed the study and 50 individuals who joined the study understood and valued age in relation to screening.
GeneScreen used a screening panel of 17 genes associated with 11 rare conditions for which treatment and/or prevention options were available, like Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer, Lynch Syndrome, and Long QT Syndrome. GeneScreen researchers initially suggested an upper age limit, reflecting the assumption that older individuals were unlikely to clinically benefit from the results. One clinician worried that without an upper age limit, GeneScreen might reinforce the desire for screening among older adults and the misconception that screening “does a lot of good when you’re 80.” This was reconsidered when they discussed familial benefit. As one researcher said, participation “might not actually save the 80-year-old that we test, but [it] could save his grandchildren.” The recognition of familial benefit motivated the decision to not exclude adults based on age.
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