7 ms·

Note that the BRCA test costs $3k when purchased through a physician, but 23andme violates the patents and tests for BRCA for $99. http://23andme.com http://23a

by rms 13y ago

Note that the BRCA test costs $3k when purchased through a physician, but 23andme violates the patents and tests for BRCA for $99. http://23andme.com http://23andme.com

forrestthewoods 13y ago
Q: "Does the 23andMe service include analysis of the BRCA gene?" A: "... The BRCA mutations covered by this report are only three of hundreds in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that can cause cancer." https://customercare.23andme.com/entries/23241132-Does-the-23andMe-service-include-analysis-of-the-BRCA-gene- https://customercare.23andme.com/entries/23241132-Does-the-2...
- rms 13y ago
  But those are three of the most significant of the possible BRCA mutations, no?
  - siganakis 13y ago
    No. Micro-array analysis (as opposed to the Exome sequencing they are starting to offer, which may be useful for BRCA diagnosis) focusses on frequently occurring single nucleotide polymorphisms (substitution of one base for another). The majority of these are benign. By looking at lots of commonly occurring variants it is hoped that they can map regions of the genome that may harbour other mutations that may actually have an effect. Baynes et al., 2007 [1] showed that none of the commonly occurring SNP's in BRCA (> 1-5% of the population) have a significant risk in cancer. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17428325 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17428325
    - rms 13y ago
      I stand corrected. It looks like 23andme is testing for just a few high-penetrance but uncommon mutations that are mostly only of interest to Ashkenazi Jews.
      - berberous 13y ago
        Myriad, the company that owns the BRCA patents, has been the only player in town for almost 20 years. There is currently a case before the Supreme Court trying to invalidate Myriad's patents, as well as all patents on human DNA. The issue, however, is that Myriad's value is no longer in their patents, but in the data they collected over the past 20 years. Myriad charges ~$3k for their tests, while a full sequence of your entire genome is only ~$5k, and will tell you the same genetic data. But Myriad has been able to correlate much more of your DNA and the BRCA regions with cancer risk, and that data is not public. 23andMe is definitely not a substitute. For anyone interested in the patents and the current Supreme Court case, check out: http://www.genomicslawreport.com/index.php/2013/05/01/some-thoughts-on-myriad-after-the-supreme-court-argument/ http://www.genomicslawreport.com/index.php/2013/05/01/some-t... That's a great blog on genomics and the law, and there are other interesting blog posts on Myriad if you look through their archive.
- gcb0 13y ago
  after you have the dna mapped out, how can you patent looking for a pattern? or is there a completely different way of mapping specific genes?
jurassic 13y ago
Have you done this? I'm interested in knowing my genetic risk factors, but I'm afraid of how I would handle it if there was something really bad and unexpected.
- rms 13y ago
  Sure. Of the high penetrance mutations 23andme tests for, I don't have anything really bad. I think it's worth knowing for most people, because of minor things you can do to alter your risk. For example, people with the bad version of the high risk Alzheimer's gene (ApoE4) probably respond better to paleo-esque diets and intermittent fasting than the average person.
  - tocomment 13y ago
    Can you explain a bit more about why certain diets would help for ApoE4? And how would fasting help?
- socialist_coder 13y ago
  I have. I find that it's very valuable to know what you're at risk for so you can plan appropriately. Of course, I was not at-risk for anything serious so it was not hard for me to cope with the results. I can see how coping with very bad results could be extremely difficult though... it's a tough choice if you are a more emotional person. I think that a lot of programmers are probably more cold and logical in their thinking (like me) so it was a pretty easy choice for me. My wife is a lot more emotional and I have tried to convince her to get 23andMe but she refuses because she doesn't want to know.
  - lostlogin 13y ago
    This isn't uncommon. I do MRI scans on those genetically at risk of breast malignancy regularly and encounter this a fair bit. If the gene is found it radically alters things - number of children, their timing, mastectomy +/- oophorectomy, financial plans etc. It isn't for everyone.
- berberous 13y ago
nigelsampson 13y ago
Interestingly I saw the news tonight here in New Zealand that BRCA test is paid for by the government if you have some risk factors for breast cancer (I believe they mentioned having two relatives affected by the disease).
- lostlogin 13y ago
  The government also pays for screening imaging, MRI included (this is one of the rare situations where MRI is used as a screening tool). This is probably significantly more expensive than the gene test.

by rms 13y ago

Note that the BRCA test costs $3k when purchased through a physician, but 23andme violates the patents and tests for BRCA for $99. http://23andme.com http://23andme.com

forrestthewoods 13y ago

Q: "Does the 23andMe service include analysis of the BRCA gene?" A: "... The BRCA mutations covered by this report are only three of hundreds in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that can cause cancer." https://customercare.23andme.com/entries/23241132-Does-the-23andMe-service-include-analysis-of-the-BRCA-gene- https://customercare.23andme.com/entries/23241132-Does-the-2...

rms 13y ago
But those are three of the most significant of the possible BRCA mutations, no?
- siganakis 13y ago
  No. Micro-array analysis (as opposed to the Exome sequencing they are starting to offer, which may be useful for BRCA diagnosis) focusses on frequently occurring single nucleotide polymorphisms (substitution of one base for another). The majority of these are benign. By looking at lots of commonly occurring variants it is hoped that they can map regions of the genome that may harbour other mutations that may actually have an effect. Baynes et al., 2007 [1] showed that none of the commonly occurring SNP's in BRCA (> 1-5% of the population) have a significant risk in cancer. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17428325 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17428325
  - rms 13y ago
    I stand corrected. It looks like 23andme is testing for just a few high-penetrance but uncommon mutations that are mostly only of interest to Ashkenazi Jews.
    - berberous 13y ago
      Myriad, the company that owns the BRCA patents, has been the only player in town for almost 20 years. There is currently a case before the Supreme Court trying to invalidate Myriad's patents, as well as all patents on human DNA. The issue, however, is that Myriad's value is no longer in their patents, but in the data they collected over the past 20 years. Myriad charges ~$3k for their tests, while a full sequence of your entire genome is only ~$5k, and will tell you the same genetic data. But Myriad has been able to correlate much more of your DNA and the BRCA regions with cancer risk, and that data is not public. 23andMe is definitely not a substitute. For anyone interested in the patents and the current Supreme Court case, check out: http://www.genomicslawreport.com/index.php/2013/05/01/some-thoughts-on-myriad-after-the-supreme-court-argument/ http://www.genomicslawreport.com/index.php/2013/05/01/some-t... That's a great blog on genomics and the law, and there are other interesting blog posts on Myriad if you look through their archive.
gcb0 13y ago
after you have the dna mapped out, how can you patent looking for a pattern? or is there a completely different way of mapping specific genes?

jurassic 13y ago

Have you done this? I'm interested in knowing my genetic risk factors, but I'm afraid of how I would handle it if there was something really bad and unexpected.

rms 13y ago
Sure. Of the high penetrance mutations 23andme tests for, I don't have anything really bad. I think it's worth knowing for most people, because of minor things you can do to alter your risk. For example, people with the bad version of the high risk Alzheimer's gene (ApoE4) probably respond better to paleo-esque diets and intermittent fasting than the average person.
- tocomment 13y ago
  Can you explain a bit more about why certain diets would help for ApoE4? And how would fasting help?
socialist_coder 13y ago
I have. I find that it's very valuable to know what you're at risk for so you can plan appropriately. Of course, I was not at-risk for anything serious so it was not hard for me to cope with the results. I can see how coping with very bad results could be extremely difficult though... it's a tough choice if you are a more emotional person. I think that a lot of programmers are probably more cold and logical in their thinking (like me) so it was a pretty easy choice for me. My wife is a lot more emotional and I have tried to convince her to get 23andMe but she refuses because she doesn't want to know.
- lostlogin 13y ago
  This isn't uncommon. I do MRI scans on those genetically at risk of breast malignancy regularly and encounter this a fair bit. If the gene is found it radically alters things - number of children, their timing, mastectomy +/- oophorectomy, financial plans etc. It isn't for everyone.
berberous 13y ago

nigelsampson 13y ago

Interestingly I saw the news tonight here in New Zealand that BRCA test is paid for by the government if you have some risk factors for breast cancer (I believe they mentioned having two relatives affected by the disease).

lostlogin 13y ago
The government also pays for screening imaging, MRI included (this is one of the rare situations where MRI is used as a screening tool). This is probably significantly more expensive than the gene test.