HFEA widens its criteria for preimplantation genetic diagnosis

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7551.1174

BMJ 2006;332:1174 (20 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7551.1174

News roundup

HFEA widens its criteria for preimplantation genetic diagnosis

BMJ Clare Dyer, legal correspondent

Screening embryos for a wider range of genetic conditions was given the go ahead by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the United Kingdom’s fertility watchdog, last week.

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis was already approved for a limited number of conditions with which a baby is born—such as cystic fibrosis—or that it risks developing early in life—for example, the cancers retinoblastoma and familial adenomatous polyposis. Both cancers have “high penetrance”—children born with the genetic mutation have a 90% chance of developing the condition.

Last week, the authority approved preimplantation genetic diagnosis for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations, linked to breast and ovarian cancers, and for a fault in the gene linked to hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC).

The move is controversial because the penetrance is lower: the BRCA1, BRCA2, and HNPCC mutations carry an 80% risk of cancer, and the BRCA1 fault also carries . . . [Full text of this article]

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