Women thought to be at high risk can get more frequent mammograms or MRI scans to check for breast cancer, or consider hormone-blocking drugs like tamoxifen. But even some advocates for better prevention approaches don't think gene tests are a good idea until more is known about the best treatment options.
"Are we going to give everyone chemotherapy or chop off everyone's breasts?" asked Barbara Brenner, head of the advocacy group Breast Cancer Action.
"It's terrifying people" to allow these tests to be sold without more information, she said.
The company that makes the new OncoVue test — Oklahoma City-based InterGenetics Inc. — aims to duck criticism by offering it only through doctors rather than directly to consumers, and validating it in population studies like the one reported Friday.
The $397 test looks for 22 single-letter variations in 19 genes that have been linked to breast cancer. The test is offered through 33 sites around the country, said Eldon Jupe, a geneticist and co-founder of the company.
Women fill out a medical questionnaire and use a mouthwash that releases cheek cells that are spit into a test tube and analyzed. A computer model weighs these factors to score cancer risk.
What makes these people think that only genes can give you breast cancer? Read the articles about "The Iodine Project" posted on the Internet. This project receives no media attention because there is no pharmaceutical company behind it. Iodine cannot be patented. The Iodine Project makes a very good case in the war against breast disease and many others.
MEDIA Just a year after buying The Wall Street Journal, the press rapscallion has revitalized the fusty paper.
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