
Announcing the Color Test for Risk of Common Hereditary Cancers - ziga
https://getcolor.com/blog/2016/04/color-for-hereditary-cancer
======
adam_quartzy
This is exciting news indeed. During my internal medicine training, I was
taught to ask questions about family history, medical history, and
environmental factors (e.g. smoking, childbirth, etc) to assess my patients'
risk for developing various cancers. For the general population the genetic
component of their cancer risk equation is by far the most important, and
family history is a very imperfect way to assess this risk. A doctor asking a
question about family history is a test, just like any lab test. And often
doctors either phrase the questions about family history incorrectly (PCPs
have about 2 minutes to ask this question and get an answer in the typical
office setting) and/or often people aren't aware of their family history. In
addition, spontaneous mutations are not uncommon, and family history does not
provide any insight there. Convenient genetic testing like this would allow me
to get immensely more accurate information about the risk profile of the
patient sitting in front of me. It is truly amazing to see this age of
precision medicine, where I can more accurately quantify my patients cancer
risk, emerge in my lifetime.

For certain genetic diseases (e.g. Huntington's) assessing risk or making a
genetic diagnosis is controversial because there's little that can be done to
prevent or treat the disease. Fortunately, cancer is very different. Being
able to more accurately quantify risk helps physicians adjust screening
protocols aimed at early detection and treatment.

I also appreciate the way Color is attacking this problem: Increasing patient
access by dropping the price, providing genetic counseling resources, and
participating in groundbreaking studies led by top institutions.

Great work, and looking forward to seeing what's next!

