Liliana Varesco, Francesco Di Tano, Juri Monducci, Stefania Sciallero, Daniela Turchetti, Claudia Bighin, Giulia Buzzatti, Irene Giannubilo, Lucia Trevisan, Linda Battistuzzi
{"title":"Cascade genetic testing in hereditary cancer: exploring the boundaries of the Italian legal framework.","authors":"Liliana Varesco, Francesco Di Tano, Juri Monducci, Stefania Sciallero, Daniela Turchetti, Claudia Bighin, Giulia Buzzatti, Irene Giannubilo, Lucia Trevisan, Linda Battistuzzi","doi":"10.1007/s10689-024-00430-y","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite its clinical value, cascade genetic testing (CGT) in hereditary cancer syndromes remains underutilized for a number of reasons, including ineffective family communication of genetic risk information. Therefore, alternative strategies are being explored to improve CGT uptake rates; one such strategy is direct contact with at-risk relatives by healthcare professionals with proband consent. It is unclear how Italian laws and regulations pertaining to CGT-including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)-should be understood and implemented in the context of such alternative strategies. The authors constructed a hypothetical case about CGT, reviewed laws and regulations on informed consent, privacy, and the right not to know, and analyzed how those laws and regulations might apply to different communicative strategies relevant to the case and aimed at supporting CGT. A constitutionally consistent reading of Italian law and of the GDPR, an integral part of the Italian privacy framework, suggests that multiple communicative approaches may be legally permissible in Italy to support the CGT process. This includes direct contact by healthcare professionals with proband consent, provided certain conditions are met. Understanding the effectiveness of such approaches in improving CGT uptake will require further research efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":12336,"journal":{"name":"Familial Cancer","volume":"24 1","pages":"9"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Familial Cancer","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10689-024-00430-y","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"GENETICS & HEREDITY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Despite its clinical value, cascade genetic testing (CGT) in hereditary cancer syndromes remains underutilized for a number of reasons, including ineffective family communication of genetic risk information. Therefore, alternative strategies are being explored to improve CGT uptake rates; one such strategy is direct contact with at-risk relatives by healthcare professionals with proband consent. It is unclear how Italian laws and regulations pertaining to CGT-including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)-should be understood and implemented in the context of such alternative strategies. The authors constructed a hypothetical case about CGT, reviewed laws and regulations on informed consent, privacy, and the right not to know, and analyzed how those laws and regulations might apply to different communicative strategies relevant to the case and aimed at supporting CGT. A constitutionally consistent reading of Italian law and of the GDPR, an integral part of the Italian privacy framework, suggests that multiple communicative approaches may be legally permissible in Italy to support the CGT process. This includes direct contact by healthcare professionals with proband consent, provided certain conditions are met. Understanding the effectiveness of such approaches in improving CGT uptake will require further research efforts.
期刊介绍:
In recent years clinical cancer genetics has become increasingly important. Several events, in particular the developments in DNA-based technology, have contributed to this evolution. Clinical cancer genetics has now matured to a medical discipline which is truly multidisciplinary in which clinical and molecular geneticists work together with clinical and medical oncologists as well as with psycho-social workers.
Due to the multidisciplinary nature of clinical cancer genetics most papers are currently being published in a wide variety of journals on epidemiology, oncology and genetics. Familial Cancer provides a forum bringing these topics together focusing on the interests and needs of the clinician.
The journal mainly concentrates on clinical cancer genetics. Most major areas in the field shall be included, such as epidemiology of familial cancer, molecular analysis and diagnosis, clinical expression, treatment and prevention, counselling and the health economics of familial cancer.