Commercial genome testing could be misleading, warns Nuffield

Commercial DNA testing could have potentially harmful consequences for individuals if the results are inaccurate or poorly supported by research, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics has warned.

The council outlined its concern in a written submission to an inquiry on commercial genomic testing, launched by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee on 4 March.

In the submission, published on 9 May, the bioethics body acknowledged that developments in DNA testing could provide tools to enable people to take more responsibility for their health and save public healthcare resources by strengthening disease prevention. But it warned there could be potential harms as well, for example “if results are inaccurate or hard to interpret and/or poorly supported by robust research”.