The Role of Next Generation Sequencing in Genetic Counseling

Genetic counseling is defined as a process that gives information about the risk of developing or transmitting a genetic condition to the next generation and management or treatment options of the genetic ailment. In addition to providing an analysis of genes known to be linked to certain syndromes, next generation sequencing strongly influences the practice of the genetic counselor. An important problem is whether to disclose variants implicated in adult-onset conditions such as cancer predisposition genes, neurodegenerative disease genes, or variants of unknown significance. Patients should be aware of benefits, limitations, and challenges in the interpretation of data. There is a need to establish guidelines on the disclosure of results and to balance privacy issues with the potential advantages and drawbacks of sharing genetic data with patients and their relatives. Thus, it is imperative that genetic counselors contribute to multidisciplinary teams implementing current models for making genetic testing available to patients and clinicians effectively and efficiently. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved