Genetic testing has seen an increase since actress Angelina Jolie revealed that she had a high risk of breast cancer. But what exactly is genetic testing and can it help everyone?
The world was shocked to hear that Jolie had a double mastectomy after doctors told her she had an 87 per cent chance of developing breast cancer. Jolie had both of her breasts removed and as a result, reduced her breast cancer risk to less than five percent.
Genetic testing is how Jolie found out she had a mutated BRCA1 gene, which is linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Angelina’s mother and aunt both died of breast cancer. She wanted to be there for her family and her future and that is why she took action.
“Gene testing provides us early information about any risk of diseases, but that does not mean that you have the disease,” says Dr. Nisha Dogra, president of Advanced Genomics Inc. In Jolie’s case, “following that up with a double mastectomy may not have been the most advised way of preventing it.”
Dogra believes Jolie should have taken a more natural approach and tried to combat the risk of breast cancer by making lifestyle and diet changes instead of going under the knife. Assessment of environmental factors can prevent a disease even if someone is highly susceptible to it.
Gene testing has changed the way health care is viewed. It has shifted the focus from curing diseases to preventing them.
“Knowing the health risks beforehand enables individuals to focus their attention on areas that require it the most,” explains Dogra. “Gene testing also makes us capable of incorporating lifestyle changes and preventing the diseases rather than trying to reverse them.”
So how exactly does a gene test work?
Well a genetic or DNA-based test can be done with a sample of blood, hair, saliva, amniotic fluid or other tissue. There are many different types of these tests and the results can determine if someone is a carrier for a genetic disease like Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s disease or heart disease. It can determine if someone is at a higher risk for certain cancers. Genetic testing can also confirm or rule out the chance of someone developing or passing on a genetic disorder. These tests can even find possible genetic diseases in unborn babies as well as newborns.
Gene testing can prevent most diseases that stem from environmental influences such as diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, high cholesterol, chronic diarrhea, depression, infections and allergies.
Gene testing seems to have a great benefit and it can fall under the category of preventative medicine. But even though the results could help a person determine future risks and diseases, often results are not simple, making them difficult to explain and determine. Sometimes a person can find out they are at risk for a certain disease however there may be nothing that can be done. This is why the decision to get tested, or not, is complex. Often, a person will have to see a genetic counselor before getting a test to discuss the pros and cons as well as the emotional aspect.
“Genetic testing does give us some clues,” says Dr. Manjit Gosal of Kaizen Medical Inc. “Unfortunately, the science of genomics has not advanced far enough such that we can effectively cure anything yet. It is true that certain gene mutations can increase your chance for getting a disease, but that does not mean that you will get that disease. Also we cannot change the gene and so you cannot fix the risk that way.”
Gosal does however promote and practice functional and preventative medicine. This is where the doctor looks at the whole person, their lifestyle and their environment in order to determine the underlying causes of that person’s current health state. Rather than just treating symptoms, the approach is to find out why the person is becoming ill and to treat those factors. The goal is to decrease the many factors that create disease and to avoid future complex chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, mental illness and autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis.
“We try to change a person’s destiny as it were,” explains Gosal. “It’s actually much easier to do this before or very early on in a disease. The point is to recognize and catch it early and then implement the correct therapies.”
The treatments can include specific dietary modifications, and even the right type of exercises that will help your natural hormones return to a balanced state.
And if you’re wondering if a genetic test is the right thing for you, Dogra has some advice.
“Gene testing is for every person, who wishes to figure out what exactly is going on within their body. Gene testing allows healthy individuals to assess their health risks, unhealthy individuals to reverse their conditions in the most side-effect free way and couples to plan their newborns at the peak of their health.”
By Salma Dinani
