Genetic testing services are to be regulated to protect UK patients

A crackdown on genetic test services has been unveiled in an attempt to prevent companies giving people misleading impressions about their future health.

The Human Genetics Commission—the United Kingdom’s advisory body on genetics—has published a framework that will force companies to follow principles of consent, data protection, honest marketing, scientific rigour, and balanced interpretation.

The commission said it believed that guidance was necessary given concerns about a growing market for “direct to consumer” services that offer tests for conditions such as Huntington’s disease and breast cancer.

Companies offer to test large numbers of genes …