I liked that you went straight to the point in the very first seconds of the video. This gives those people that are just looking for a quick answer what they are looking for, and those that want a more detailed explanation can stick until the end.
I did 23andme before they did health reports and I upgraded later on and found out I have hereditary hemochromatosis. I was suffering symptoms for years and this was the piece of the puzzle I needed. It saved my life.
Thanks, I definitely thought that it might be a comprehensive DNA health analysis. It's extremely unclear to the general public looking for a DNA health analysis, it would be appropriate to have a detailed table comparing the health analysis provided by these different companies for example predisposition to xyz cancers or metabolic issues etc
I did take 23 and me but opted not to do the health report,one because I wasn't sure how accurate it was and two because if something actually came up I would much rather hear it from a medical professional who could then give me proper advice.I am glad I didn't but the ancestry aspect is fun.Thank you for the extra information
Hi Racheal, thank you for the informative video. I have a question. I am looking for the best DNA test to show me which type of diet would be best unhealthiest for me; and how my body handles carbohydrates proteins fats. Do you know which test you would suggest for this specific information? I’m not necessarily looking for my risk of Various diseases etc.I know there are many tests out where they are like 23 and me, circle etc. and many tests within those from basic to premium. Is there one that you would suggest for this information? Thank you very much for your help it is greatly appreciated! Debbie
Your knowledge is amazing . You must be science based. Medical grade labs with clinics. Seem necessary for most people after so many disease states 2008-2022
Thank you. I had an unexpected paternity result and I am considering doing genetic testing since 1/2 of my family history is a complete mystery. Edit: my known ancestry is ashkenazi Jewish and I already know that breast cancer doesn’t run in my family. Colon cancer seems to run in the family. My biological father seems to have been African American with some NW European/British ancestry.
Thank you for sharing! Many people who are missing information about their family’s medical history consider genetic testing. I would definitely recommend that you find a genetic counselor who can guide you in selecting the appropriate test for you (it would probably be a test that includes common diseases that can have a hereditary component - such as cancer and cardiovascular disease).
23andMe I believe have options to download raw data & can that be used to check what other genetic dispositions? If so ; perhaps the other databases like the NIH’s data base?
Very helpful information, thank you for sharing! I’ve read mixed reviews about Invitae reporting risks to insurance which then increases the consumer’s premium rates. Could you confirm if this is true? I would love to see more content. Would you be up to share your thoughts on the NIH’s All of Us research study and Ambry’s CancerNext genetic test?
Thank you for watching! If your insurance is being billed for the genetic test, all labs will submit some information to the insurance company to obtain reimbursement. That information could include any personal or family history of cancer that is required for the insurance to determine if you meet criteria for them to cover the test. I definitely plan to film more content in the next few months! Your questions would be great video ideas. I can make a dedicated video about the All of Us research study. As for Ambry’s CancerNext test, it’s definitely a test we order often in clinic for people who have a personal/family history of cancer. It’s a pan-cancer panel, meaning it includes genes related to different types of cancers. A genetic specialist can tell you if this specific panel would be appropriate for you.
Did you say 23andMe is the better option if Im adopted? That was a little confusing. Im adopted, know nothing about my biological family, and really trying to figure out if Im susceptible to anything.
What about autoimmune diseases? I am diagnosed with lupus and dry eye but it’s amazing how they asked me directly if I have lupus and dry eye found it very interesting
Not disputing your good points about 23andme, but you aren't being totally transparent here. You say you aren't being sponsored, but for both labs you mentioned you put links that have tokens to let them know you directed them there, why not just have simple links if you aren't being sponsored or connected to them in any way? Even less transparent is making it seem the link has no tokens but if hover over the link you can see the ACTUAL link.
Trust me, I wish I was sponsored! And I would let you all know! Maybe if my channel grows beyond 330 subscribers, the labs will take notice of me and want to sponsor me 😉. I’m just here to provide some education.
Thank you for asking such a great question! Yes, the main reason to test for genetic mutations related to cancer is that there are many things that you can do to reduce your risk of cancer if you find out that you have a high risk. This includes lifestyle modifications, certain medications, or preventative surgeries. Starting screening earlier and/or more frequently is also usually an option and the goal of screening is to detect a cancer as early as possible when the prognosis may be better. Some screening tools, like colonoscopy, also reduce the risk of cancer (i.e. colon polyps are removed before they have a chance to turn into cancer).
What is the best way to get a genetic test done that includes many of the variants? There are some things I want to look at specifically related to family heart issues, cancer and brain aneurysms (both my parents had them.)
Probably best to see a genetic counselor since there are multiple health issues you’re concerned about and you’d want to make sure that the most appropriate test is ordered for each of them. Usually these would be separate tests (cardiogenetics, oncology, neurogenetics). Most genetic Counselors specialize in a particular area so you might need separate visits and separate tests. Otherwise whole exome sequencing might be something to discuss with a genetic counselor.
Great review. 00:25 For the traits, do they specify which specific genes/mutations the evaluations based off of? Or is it basically slightly better astrology. I'm actually seriously interested in stuff like "night owl" genes (PER3), sleep amount, and other non-cancer health-related genetic predispositions. Do they suffer from the same sort of problem as you suggest in this video and does 23andMe make that clear in the report?
Somewhere on their website they do list the specific mutations that they test for in each specific gene. It’s usually just a handful of mutations per gene (while there are usually 100s-1000s of possible mutations). This is the same for the cancer genes and non-cancer genes that they offer as part of their health report and carrier report. The mutations they choose are usually more common in certain populations (different for every gene). It’s much better than astrology just very incomplete! They do list the test limitations on the report. Their wellness reports (and also some of their newer health reports) are a little different than what I discussed in the video (the original health report). The wellness reports are based on many more genetic variants. Each individual variant doesn’t contribute much to a particular trait but, in aggregate, these traits may predict that you are more or less likely to have a particular trait. This is SNP-based testing. I am planning an upcoming video about this type of testing in the near future. Hoping to film it soon!
JUST realized you specified the traits report. Yeah, this is SNP-based testing as I discussed above. It’s probably a little better than astrology but it’s also very different than looking at specific well-known mutations like they do in the original health report.
@@CancerGC A little better than astrology doesn't sound very promising. So SNP-based testing is a totally diff tool from ones used to measure cancer related genetic predisposition you talk about here? Would you briefly explain how and why that makes SNP-based only a little better than astrology?
Do you know anything about Promethease? I got a report from them and I have one from Invitea from a hereditary cancer panel. MHS6 (VUS). I have had multiple adenomatous colon polyps removed and my son had polyps removed at 19. Promethease reports are very detailed. You can sort it out multiple ways but kind of complicated. Other things that doctors have suspected with me or I already knew, like being HLA-B27 positive, Leiden Factor 5 (I have a history of DVT), autoimmune risks, etc.
23andMe uses a technique called genotyping which means that they are only looking at a select few specific variants within each of the genes on their panel. Sequencing, on the other hand, can be used to determine the entire sequence of the genetic code of a particular gene. 23andMe doesn't do sequencing. You can check out this link: www.23andme.com/test-info/. The last section of that page includes a list of the diseases they test for and they list the specific variants within those genes that they test for. You can see a list of the conditions they've chosen to include as part of their "Genetic Health Risks" and "Carrier Status". For most of these genes, there are 100s or 1000s of known disease-causing variants, and 23andMe only tests for 2 or 3 variants per disease (the variants that they choose to test for are more common in certain populations but not others).
I want to do a genetic test, but I'm not sure if I want to know about all the diseases I might be prone to. I mean, I'm afraid I'm going to get paranoid, and at any little pain, I'm going to feel like I have one of the diseases I'm prone to. I know it's not cancer-related but can you see if you have a genetic predisposition for Alzheimer's? Can lung cancer be genetically transmitted?
Ale thanks for your comment. Lung cancer is not typically hereditary although there are some genetic conditions that may increase the risk. I can’t comment too much on Alzheimer’s since I don’t specialize in that area but as far as I know there is no genetic test that will tell you if you will definitely develop Alzheimer’s but there are some genetic tests that can tell you if you have a higher risk. If you are worried about cancer or Alzheimer’s risk or any other hereditary risk I highly recommend finding a Genetic Counselor on findageneticcounselor.com. All the best!
Hi Rachel, good video, do you know of any genetics company that will allow you to purchase a test to sequence over any particular region or gene? I want my fbn1 gene done for me and my parents but would rather not get whole genome for all 3 of us with nebula, as that sounds quite expensive
Hi Samuel, I would recommend that you find a genetic counselor who will ensure that the test is ordered correctly for you and your parents. You can definitely get testing for FBN1 only. Many clinical labs offer it.
It does tell you that the results don’t necessarily mean they are 100% accurately and other factors can contribute to you developing the disease or not. Just because it tells you you aren’t at risk for cancer, we know that doesn’t mean you can still get it. I feel you are saying they are providing false information when we know is not true.
Not false information, but definitely incomplete information, at least when it comes to genetic testing for cancer risk. There are SO many other cancer-related genes which are not included, and the few genes which are included are only minimally analyzed.
No, the health test includes genes related to different diseases including cancer. I focused on the cancer genes because that’s my specialty but the limitations of the cancer-related testing apply to the non-cancer-related testing as well.
I wouldn’t recommend it for any of other conditions either for the same reasons - they are only testing a few genes related to those conditions and only a few mutations within those genes. There’s no harm per se in doing the test, it’s just very limited so no one should feel falsely reassured if the test finds no mutations.
The information given is VERY narrow. 23 and me offers many other things than just cancer, and the cancer stuff is NOT what I'm interested in. When your title is what it is, I expected a much broader review, not just the basic cancer information, and not such unnecessarily detailed information... Too much detail which most lay persons would not even understand, too little information about the breadth of the 23 and me health report. I would suggest that the title include the word 'cancer', since that is specifically what this video is about.
The limitations of their cancer test is applicable to the other conditions they include on the health report. I’m using the cancer genes as an example.
daughter tested with 23 and me wife myself another daughter and my mum in law with ancestry i transferred mine,wifes and mum in laws to Prometheus. with is a none smoker and not ever worked in a dusty environment she has a 40% educed lung capacity due to copd. looked at wifes report she is mz for alpha1, her mum is zz as is the daughter with 23and me, she has had the clinical tests and they confirm this. mum in laws bother died in his late 50s with liver failure. me and the other daughter are mm normal. so its accurate in some things
Yes, if a mutation is found it might definitely be real and should be confirmed with clinical testing. But negative results can oftentimes be “false negatives”.
My argument against getting health-related testing through 23andMe is that they don't do full sequencing. I maintain that there are definitely some consumers who are not aware of this limitation as you can easily see by watching reaction videos on RU-vid. I also mention this concern based on personal clinical experience - a lot of people don't know what 23andMe tests for and what they don't. I'm sure there are many informed consumers but there are many uninformed consumers too.
Hi Racheal, thank you for the informative video. I have a question. I am looking for the best DNA test to show me which type of diet would be best unhealthiest for me; and how my body handles carbohydrates proteins fats. Do you know which test you would suggest for this specific information? I’m not necessarily looking for my risk of Various diseases etc.I know there are many tests out where they are like 23 and me, circle etc. and many tests within those from basic to premium. Is there one that you would suggest for this information? Thank you very much for your help it is greatly appreciated! Debbie
