FDA authorizes first direct-to-consumer BRCA1/2 test

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the first direct-to-consumer (DTC) test to report on three specific BRCA1/BRCA2 breast cancer gene mutations.

Personal Genome Service Genetic Health Risk (GHR) Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) does not identify the most common BRCA1/2 mutations but rather the three most common in people of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish descent, the FDA said in a press statement.

The three mutations identified by the test are present in about 2% of Ashkenazi Jewish women, but rarely in other ethnic populations. Any individual who takes the test may have other mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, or other cancer-related gene mutations that are not detected by this test.