71 per cent of Australians believe that gene testing does not necessarily contribute to effective cancer or disease treatment according to a survey by Lonergan on behalf of gene technology company, Illumina.
At the same time, researchers from 50 countries are discussing how genetic testing is helping with a wide range of diseases including stuttering, mitochondrial disease, cerebral palsy, and many cancers.
And DNA screening for risk of disease that can be prevented or treated (like some cancers or heart disease) is being offered to 10,000 Australians (18-40yo) though the DNA Screen pilot study led by Monash University.
“Gene testing and genomic medicine are already transforming lives,” says Professor Phil Batterham, co-convenor of the International Congress of Genetics. “Gene testing is helping to save the lives of critically ill children and explaining the causes of genetic diseases.”
“Today, in Melbourne, your genome can be sequenced for a few thousand dollars in a few days. And the information can be used to identify your risk of disease, and to create a unique treatment for your cancer.” he says.
And yet, the Lonergan survey reports that 71 per cent of Australians believe that gene testing does not necessarily contribute to effective cancer or disease treatment.
Many Australians also have concerns about genomic medicine. Only 27% surveyed expressed no concerns. The majority of people have a range of concerns around genomics from anxiety over potential disease (38%), data leakage (34%), discoveries raising insurance premiums (24%) to genetic information being used in cloning (23%) and gene editing (24%).
