With the advancement of technology and the sharp decline in cost, genetic testing has gradually moved from biomedical laboratories to clinical practice, approaching the general public. Under the "famous name" such as "gene detection can predict disease" and "gene detection can find child talent", many organizations have also launched related services. What is the value of genetic testing? How can we better utilize and effectively monitor emerging technologies? Our reporter launched an investigation.
Can cure all diseases?
Accurately detect and diagnose genetic diseases, but not for all diseases
Ms. Li, who lives in Tianqiao District, Jinan, Shandong Province, recently performed a genetic test during pregnancy. "I am a pregnant woman, I am afraid that my baby is unhealthy, and I will strictly follow the doctor's request for a checkup." Ms. Li said that when she was pregnant for 20 weeks, the doctor discovered that the child was not developing properly through B-ultrasound. After non-invasive peripheral blood gene screening, the fetus No. 21 Chromosomal abnormalities, the risk of Down's syndrome is high, and then amniocentesis confirmed, Ms. Li had to endure the pregnancy.
"Prenatal examination using genetic testing can detect whether a fetus carries a mutant gene that causes serious diseases after birth. If there is, parents can choose to terminate the pregnancy and achieve prenatal and postnatal care." Zhang Hongbing, a professor at Peking Union Medical College, told reporters that Clinically, genetic testing is the examination of the sequence of genes, compared to the parameters of healthy people, to see if these sequences change. If there is a change, find the mutated gene that can cause the disease, and then judge whether the subject is sick, such as some genetic diseases.
"Gene detection does have high medical value." Yang Ling, president of Beijing Jiyinjia Technology Co., Ltd., believes that the genetic genes of many genetic diseases are very clear, and genetic tests can accurately detect and diagnose genetic diseases. Once the patient is diagnosed, targeted targeted therapies can be accepted to control the disease and reduce the pain of blind medical attention.
So, can genetic testing detect all diseases?
"Gene detection is not so 'god'." Zhang Hongbing said that genetic variation does not necessarily produce disease, and some genetic variants only indicate that individual traits are different, such as the appearance of two people is different. Medically, most diseases are not related to heredity, but are caused by external conditions and changes in the body of the patient. In the case of breast cancer, only 5% of patients have a family history.
Yang Ling believes that genetic testing is effective and can be judged from specific diseases and their scientific evidence and data accumulation. Complex diseases, such as general hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and other diseases, have little to do with genes, and it is difficult to predict and diagnose diseases by genetic testing.
At this stage, the mainstream clinical genetic testing institutions are doing genetic mutation detection that causes disease, rather than doing illusory association testing. Judging whether a gene mutation will cause disease in the end, analysts who need genetic testing have higher judgment levels, medical knowledge and clinical experience.
Can also measure talent?
"Natural gene" detection is not reliable, suspected of abduction, hype concept
"I heard that the current genetic testing technology can detect children's talents. I want to discover my son's talent early, so as to cultivate him in a targeted manner." Ms. Yang, who lives in Chaoyang District, Beijing, recently spent more than 5,000 yuan to her 2-year-old son. A "natural gene" test. Ms. Yang said that from the payment of an e-commerce platform, she received the sampling tool of the testing agency two days later. According to the instructions, she collected the oral cells from her son and sent it to the testing agency. She received the beautifully produced test in less than 20 days. report.
“The test report is more than 50 pages thick, and there are a large number of data forms and English words. Many of the contents do not understand.†Ms. Yang said that the report includes artistic expertise, IQ, sports expertise, personality traits, etc. Indicate dietary recommendations, future career development directions, etc.
The reporter's investigation found that several home appliance business platforms have sold "natural gene" testing business, and the price per order ranges from 2,000 yuan to more than 60,000 yuan. Among them, more than 60,000 yuan of genetic testing business claims to be tested by overseas institutions, not only can detect children's health, such as body type development, disease risk, etc., but also detect children's talents, such as sports potential, artistic talent, learning ability. The operation is very convenient. After the arrival, the sample is sampled by the inspection tool and sent back to the inspection organization. After a period of time, the test report can be received.
Can genetic testing really "calculate" the child's talent?
"At the current level of technology, the 'natural gene' test is not reliable, suspected of abduction, hype concept, and the charges are very high." Zhang Hongbing told reporters that "natural gene" detection is based on genetic correlation analysis, and Correlation analysis only shows very slight possibilities. The testing agency has expanded it to turn plausible things into facts and become various "natural genes", such as music genes and art genes.
In fact, the specific talents of human beings are determined by which genes and how they are determined. At present, there is no way to give accurate answers to the current level of science and technology. Relevant experts explained that, for example, IQ is closely related to genes, but IQ is determined by the integration of thousands of genes. From the perspective of gene sequencing , it is difficult to detect someone's IQ talent. Conversely, a genetic mutation that results in a very low IQ is completely detectable, such as Down's syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, but this is the medical application of genetic testing.
How is it more orderly?
Supporting protection and reasonable supervision, calling for unified standards
With the advancement of science, genetic testing has become a very important means of detecting and diagnosing diseases in the clinic. From the first human whole-genome sequencing research costing more than 3 billion US dollars to now several thousand yuan can be realized, the cost of genetic testing is greatly reduced, and the ordinary testing institutions can also complete, so some speculators are generated, and the genetic testing is hyped. The concept makes money.
"At present, most companies in the genetic testing industry are seriously doing genetic testing projects, but there are also non-standard and not rigorous enterprises." Yang Ling believes that genetic testing is an emerging industry, its own technical threshold is high, and supervision still exists. Lag. The clinical application of genetic testing should be regulated according to medical devices and diagnostic reagents, and strict access standards should be applied to laboratories, testing personnel and reagents.
“Some e-commerce platforms publicly sell the 'natural gene' testing service, which itself indicates that there are loopholes in management.†Yang Ling said that legal genetic testing requires four qualifications: the company's medical qualification for genetic testing, employee qualification, project qualification Reagent qualifications used. The “Natural Gene†testing service has no project qualification and should not appear on the market. In the United States, such genetic testing is only in the laboratory research stage, and it is forbidden to enter the market to make money.
“The government should support the genetic testing industry to both protect and properly regulate.†Zhang Hongbing believes that the application of genetic testing in non-clinical new fields is still in the stage of laboratory research and data accumulation. If they are too tightly regulated, there are too many restrictions. Will hinder the development of technology. Genetic testing in genetic fields such as genetic diseases, tumors, and prenatal examinations should be strongly supported, while behaviors such as measuring talents, knowing life and death, and so on, without a scientific basis, should be severely cracked down on the prevention of genetic testing.
Genes are the basic factors of life. With the development of life sciences and computer technology, the application of genetic testing in clinical applications will be more and more, and its quality and credibility will become higher and higher. Industry experts said that at present, China still lacks the technical standards and market access standards of genetic testing companies. The relevant technical means of various institutions are very different, and the levels are uneven. It is not necessary to establish uniform standards, such as technical standards, reagent standards, and charging standards. Promote safe, orderly and reliable development of the industry.
Reporter's notes
New technology applications do not require innovation supervision
In recent years, new technologies in the medical field such as genetic testing and Internet medical treatment have been continuously applied, allowing people to enjoy the health benefits brought about by technological advancement. The reason why new technology is "new" is because it has just emerged, there are still immature places, and it is not well known to most people. Some speculators in the market are easy to use the new technology banner, using information asymmetry to swindle and swindle, many people are easy to be fooled, but lose money, but affect the health.
The application of new technologies requires innovation supervision by relevant departments. It is impossible to let go of the market, let the market grow wildly, and it is impossible to control the development of new technologies. It is important to assess the application of new technologies in a timely manner, distinguishing between deterministic outcomes and which are still in the testing and research phase. For the former, relevant standards should be formulated to allow them to develop steadily and healthily. For the cutting-edge applications of the testing and research phase, its operation should be regulated and strictly prohibited from entering the market to maintain a healthy and orderly market environment. (People's Daily)
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