SOCIETY NEWS ASHG Statement * on Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing has been gaining prom-inence over the past several years.1 Proponents of DTC testing cite benefits that include increased consumer access to testing, greater consumer autonomy and empowerment, and enhanced privacy of the information obtained. Critics of DTC genetic test-ing have pointed to the risks that consumers will choose testing without adequate context or counseling, will receive tests from laboratories of dubious quality, and will be misled by unproven claims of benefit. Currently, DTC genetic testing is permitted in about half the states2 and is subject to little oversight at the federal level. In July 2006, the Government Accountability Office issued a report doc-umenting troubling marketing practices by some DTC testing companies,3 and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a consumer alert cautioning consumers to be skeptical about claim