Genetic testing & Kidney Cancer

Kidney Cancer UK is very interested in an article that was released this week about genetic testing and its use in cancer care. Genetic testing has lots of potential within kidney cancer care. By uncovering an individual’s genetic code we may be able to speed up diagnosis, understand the specific type of kidney cancer people have and how they might respond to drugs (which drugs they will respond to and which will cause adverse side effects). Kidney Cancer UK are very keen to make sure that kidney cancer patients are offered genetic testing as and when it is available. It is certainly worth having a conversation with the medical professionals looking after you if you would like to know more about this and to ask if and when it might be available to you.
Genetic testing is a controversial subject. There are issues surrounding data confidentiality that some people have raised and concerns about health insurance and whether people want to know what the future holds for them, however our opinion is that the potential of genetic testing outweighs concerns. However everyone has their own opinion, we would be very interested to know what you think.  In the near future we will be releasing an article covering this topic in more detail, setting out the pros and cons of genetic testing and also launching a survey to capture your opinions. Please look out for this in the very near future and let us know if you would like to know more about the basics of genetics and the implications within kidney cancer.