selected ethical issues in oncogenetics

Abstract

Oncogenetics is the medical care of families with hereditary cancer risk. Bioethicslaws strictly control this activity. Taking into account the medical benefit and livessaved through oncogenetics when a constitutional mutation in hereditary cancer riskgene is found, the law requires that information is disseminated to the relatives. if theconsultant cannot or will not provide this information, this is the geneticist who willcontact the family. This is an unprecedented situation where the doctor encouragesmedical advices not requested by patients. The clermont experience is shown on theapplication of the law and its practical difficulties. currently the technology ofmolecular genetic diagnosis is changing rapidly and allows new diagnostics whetherat the level of cancerous tumors or in the genome with the perspective that everyonecan soon have the sequence of the entire genome with the interpretation of personalrisk of cancer diseases or other kinds. it is necessary to better anticipate emergingethical issues already raised by the first medical practices of these technologies