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Pickles JC, Aquilina K, Chalker J, Dahl C, Devadass A, Mankad K, Merve A, Ahmed M, Nicoll JAR, Bloom T, Hilton DA, Sebire NJ, Hargrave D, Jacques TS. Decision making for health-related research outcomes that alter diagnosis: A model from paediatric brain tumours. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2024; 50:e12994. [PMID: 38982613 DOI: 10.1111/nan.12994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
AIMS The question of how to handle clinically actionable outcomes from retrospective research studies is poorly explored. In neuropathology, this problem is exacerbated by ongoing refinement in tumour classification. We sought to establish a disclosure threshold for potential revised diagnoses as determined by the neuro-oncology speciality. METHODS As part of a previous research study, the diagnoses of 73 archival paediatric brain tumour samples were reclassified according to the WHO 2016 guidelines. To determine the disclosure threshold and clinical actionability of pathology-related findings, we conducted a result-evaluation approach within the ethical framework of BRAIN UK using a surrogate clinical multidisciplinary team (MDT) of neuro-oncology specialists. RESULTS The MDT identified key determinants impacting decision-making, including anticipated changes to patient management, time elapsed since initial diagnosis, likelihood of the patient being alive and absence of additional samples since cohort inception. Ultimately, none of our research findings were considered clinically actionable, largely due to the cohort's historic archival and high-risk nature. From this experience, we developed a decision-making framework to determine if research findings indicating a change in diagnosis require reporting to the relevant clinical teams. CONCLUSIONS Ethical issues relating to the use of archival tissue for research and the potential to identify actionable findings must be carefully considered. We have established a structured framework to assess the actionability of research data relating to patient diagnosis. While our specific findings are most applicable to the pathology of poor prognostic brain tumour groups in children, the model can be adapted to a range of disease settings, for example, other diseases where research is dependent on retrospective tissue cohorts, and research findings may have implications for patients and families, such as other tumour types, epilepsy-related pathology, genetic disorders and degenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica C Pickles
- Developmental Biology and Cancer & Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
- Department of Histopathology, NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre and UCL, London, UK
| | - Kristian Aquilina
- Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Jane Chalker
- Specialist Integrated Haematology and Malignancy Diagnostic Service-Acquired Genomics, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Christine Dahl
- Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | | | - Kshitij Mankad
- Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Ashirwad Merve
- Department of Histopathology, NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre and UCL, London, UK
| | - Munaza Ahmed
- North East Thames Regional Clinical Genetics Service, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - James A R Nicoll
- Clinical & Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- Cellular Pathology, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
| | - Tabitha Bloom
- Clinical & Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - David A Hilton
- Department of Histopathology, University Hospitals Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Neil J Sebire
- Developmental Biology and Cancer & Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
- Department of Histopathology, NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre and UCL, London, UK
| | - Darren Hargrave
- Developmental Biology and Cancer & Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
- Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Thomas S Jacques
- Developmental Biology and Cancer & Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
- Department of Histopathology, NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre and UCL, London, UK
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Matsui K, Yamamoto K, Tashiro S, Ibuki T. A systematic approach to the disclosure of genomic findings in clinical practice and research: a proposed framework with colored matrix and decision-making pathways. BMC Med Ethics 2021; 22:168. [PMID: 34953504 PMCID: PMC8709972 DOI: 10.1186/s12910-021-00738-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Whether and how to disclose genomic findings obtained in the course of genomic clinical practice and medical research has been a controversial global bioethical issue over the past two decades. Although several recommendations and judgment tools for the disclosure of genomic findings have been proposed, none are sufficiently systematic or inclusive or even consistent with each other. In order to approach the disclosure/non-disclosure practice in an ethical manner, optimal and easy-to-use tools for supporting the judgment of physicians/researchers in genomic medicine are necessary. Methods The bioethics literature on this topic was analyzed to parse and deconstruct the somewhat overlapping and therefore ill-defined key concepts of genomic findings, such as incidental, primary, secondary, and other findings. Based on the deconstruction and conceptual analyses of these findings, we then defined key parameters from which to identify the strength of duty to disclose (SDD) for a genomic finding. These analyses were then applied to develop a framework with the SDD matrix and systematic decision-making pathways for the disclosure of genomic findings. Results The following six major parameters (axes), along with sub-axes, were identified: Axis 1 (settings and institutions where findings emerge); Axis 2 (presence or absence of intention and anticipatability in discovery); Axis 3 (maximal actionability at the time of discovery); Axis 4 (net medical importance); Axis 5 (expertise of treating physician/researcher); and Axis 6 (preferences of individual patients/research subjects for disclosure). For Axes 1 to 4, a colored SDD matrix for genomic findings was developed in which levels of obligation for disclosing a finding can be categorized. For Axes 5 and 6, systematic decision-making pathways were developed via the SDD matrix. Conclusion We analyzed the SDD of genomic findings and developed subsequent systematic decision-making pathways of whether and how to disclose genomic findings to patients/research subjects and their relatives in an ethical manner. Our comprehensive framework may help physicians and researchers in genomic medicine make consistent ethical judgments regarding the disclosure of genomic findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji Matsui
- Division of Bioethics and Healthcare Law, The Institute for Cancer Control, The National Cancer Center Japan, Tsukiji 5-1-1, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0045, Japan.
| | - Keiichiro Yamamoto
- Office of Bioethics, The Center for Clinical Sciences, The National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shimon Tashiro
- Department of Sociology, Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Tomohide Ibuki
- Institute of Arts and Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Noda-shi, Japan
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Sapp JC, Facio FM, Cooper D, Lewis KL, Modlin E, van der Wees P, Biesecker LG. A systematic literature review of disclosure practices and reported outcomes for medically actionable genomic secondary findings. Genet Med 2021; 23:2260-2269. [PMID: 34433902 PMCID: PMC9017985 DOI: 10.1038/s41436-021-01295-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose: Secondary findings (SF) are present in 1–4% of individuals undergoing genome/exome sequencing. A review of how SF are disclosed and what outcomes result from their receipt is urgent and timely. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review of SF disclosure practices and outcomes after receipt including cascade testing, family and provider communication, and healthcare actions. Of the 1,184 non-duplicate records screened we summarize findings from 27 included research articles describing SF disclosure practices, outcomes after receipt, or both. Results: The included articles reported 709 unique SF index recipients/families. Referrals and/or recommendations were provided 647 SF recipients and outcome data were available for 236. At least one recommended evaluation was reported for 146 SF recipients; 16 reports of treatment or prophylactic surgery were identified. We found substantial variations in how the constructs of interest were defined and described. Conclusion: Variation in how SF disclosure and outcomes were described limited our ability to compare findings. We conclude the literature provided limited insight into how the ACMG guidelines have been translated into precision health outcomes for SF recipients. Robust studies of SF recipients are needed and should be prioritized for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie C Sapp
- Center for Precision Health Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA. .,Translational Health Sciences, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.
| | - Flavia M Facio
- Center for Precision Health Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Diane Cooper
- National Institutes of Health Library, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Katie L Lewis
- Center for Precision Health Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Emily Modlin
- Center for Precision Health Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Philip van der Wees
- Translational Health Sciences, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.,Radboud University Medical Center, IQ Healthcare and Rehabilitation, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Leslie G Biesecker
- Center for Precision Health Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
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Fontes Marx M, Ataguba JE, de Vries J, Wonkam A. Systematic Review of the Economic Evaluation of Returning Incidental Findings in Genomic Research. Front Public Health 2021; 9:697381. [PMID: 34277554 PMCID: PMC8281014 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.697381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives: Discussions regarding who and how incidental findings (IFs) should be returned and the ethics behind returning IFs have increased dramatically over the years. However, information on the cost and benefits of returning IFs to patients remains scanty. Design: This study systematically reviews the economic evaluation of returning IFs in genomic sequencing. We searched for published articles on the cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit, and cost-utility of IFs in Medline, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Results: We found six published articles that met the eligibility criteria of this study. Two articles used cost analysis only, one used cost-benefit analysis only, two used both cost analysis and cost-effectiveness, and one used both cost-benefit analysis and cost-utility to describe the cost of returning IFs in genomic sequencing. Conclusion: While individuals value the IF results and are willing to pay for them, the cost of returning IFs depends on the primary health condition of the patient. Although patients were willing to pay, there was no clear evidence that returning IFs might be cost-effective. More rigorous economic evaluation studies of IFs are needed to determine whether or not the cost of returning IFs is beneficial to the patient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayara Fontes Marx
- Department of Pathology, Division of Human Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - John E Ataguba
- Health Economics Unit, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Jantina de Vries
- Department of Pathology, Division of Human Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ambroise Wonkam
- Department of Pathology, Division of Human Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.,Institute to Infectious Disease and Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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Gorman KM, Meyer E, Grozeva D, Spinelli E, McTague A, Sanchis-Juan A, Carss KJ, Bryant E, Reich A, Schneider AL, Pressler RM, Simpson MA, Debelle GD, Wassmer E, Morton J, Sieciechowicz D, Jan-Kamsteeg E, Paciorkowski AR, King MD, Cross JH, Poduri A, Mefford HC, Scheffer IE, Haack TB, McCullagh G, Millichap JJ, Carvill GL, Clayton-Smith J, Maher ER, Raymond FL, Kurian MA, McRae JF, Clayton S, Fitzgerald TW, Kaplanis J, Prigmore E, Rajan D, Sifrim A, Aitken S, Akawi N, Alvi M, Ambridge K, Barrett DM, Bayzetinova T, Jones P, Jones WD, King D, Krishnappa N, Mason LE, Singh T, Tivey AR, Ahmed M, Anjum U, Archer H, Armstrong R, Awada J, Balasubramanian M, Banka S, Baralle D, Barnicoat A, Batstone P, Baty D, Bennett C, Berg J, Bernhard B, Bevan AP, Bitner-Glindzicz M, Blair E, Blyth M, Bohanna D, Bourdon L, Bourn D, Bradley L, Brady A, Brent S, Brewer C, Brunstrom K, Bunyan DJ, Burn J, Canham N, Castle B, Chandler K, Chatzimichali E, Cilliers D, Clarke A, Clasper S, Clayton-Smith J, Clowes V, Coates A, Cole T, Colgiu I, Collins A, Collinson MN, Connell F, Cooper N, Cox H, Cresswell L, Cross G, Crow Y, D’Alessandro M, Dabir T, Davidson R, Davies S, de Vries D, Dean J, Deshpande C, Devlin G, Dixit A, Dobbie A, Donaldson A, Donnai D, Donnelly D, Donnelly C, Douglas A, Douzgou S, Duncan A, Eason J, Ellard S, Ellis I, Elmslie F, Evans K, Everest S, Fendick T, Fisher R, Flinter F, Foulds N, Fry A, Fryer A, Gardiner C, Gaunt L, Ghali N, Gibbons R, Gill H, Goodship J, Goudie D, Gray E, Green A, Greene P, Greenhalgh L, Gribble S, Harrison R, Harrison L, Harrison V, Hawkins R, He L, Hellens S, Henderson A, Hewitt S, Hildyard L, Hobson E, Holden S, Holder M, Holder S, Hollingsworth G, Homfray T, Humphreys M, Hurst J, Hutton B, Ingram S, Irving M, Islam L, Jackson A, Jarvis J, Jenkins L, Johnson D, Jones E, Josifova D, Joss S, Kaemba B, Kazembe S, Kelsell R, Kerr B, Kingston H, Kini U, Kinning E, Kirby G, Kirk C, Kivuva E, Kraus A, Kumar D, Kumar VKA, Lachlan K, Lam W, Lampe A, Langman C, Lees M, Lim D, Longman C, Lowther G, Lynch SA, Magee A, Maher E, Male A, Mansour S, Marks K, Martin K, Maye U, McCann E, McConnell V, McEntagart M, McGowan R, McKay K, McKee S, McMullan DJ, McNerlan S, McWilliam C, Mehta S, Metcalfe K, Middleton A, Miedzybrodzka Z, Miles E, Mohammed S, Montgomery T, Moore D, Morgan S, Morton J, Mugalaasi H, Murday V, Murphy H, Naik S, Nemeth A, Nevitt L, Newbury-Ecob R, Norman A, O’Shea R, Ogilvie C, Ong KR, Park SM, Parker MJ, Patel C, Paterson J, Payne S, Perrett D, Phipps J, Pilz DT, Pollard M, Pottinger C, Poulton J, Pratt N, Prescott K, Price S, Pridham A, Procter A, Purnell H, Quarrell O, Ragge N, Rahbari R, Randall J, Rankin J, Raymond L, Rice D, Robert L, Roberts E, Roberts J, Roberts P, Roberts G, Ross A, Rosser E, Saggar A, Samant S, Sampson J, Sandford R, Sarkar A, Schweiger S, Scott R, Scurr I, Selby A, Seller A, Sequeira C, Shannon N, Sharif S, Shaw-Smith C, Shearing E, Shears D, Sheridan E, Simonic I, Singzon R, Skitt Z, Smith A, Smith K, Smithson S, Sneddon L, Splitt M, Squires M, Stewart F, Stewart H, Straub V, Suri M, Sutton V, Swaminathan GJ, Sweeney E, Tatton-Brown K, Taylor C, Taylor R, Tein M, Temple IK, Thomson J, Tischkowitz M, Tomkins S, Torokwa A, Treacy B, Turner C, Turnpenny P, Tysoe C, Vandersteen A, Varghese V, Vasudevan P, Vijayarangakannan P, Vogt J, Wakeling E, Wallwark S, Waters J, Weber A, Wellesley D, Whiteford M, Widaa S, Wilcox S, Wilkinson E, Williams D, Williams N, Wilson L, Woods G, Wragg C, Wright M, Yates L, Yau M, Nellåker C, Parker M, Firth HV, Wright CF, FitzPatrick DR, Barrett JC, Hurles ME, Al Turki S, Anderson C, Anney R, Antony D, Artigas MS, Ayub M, Balasubramaniam S, Barrett JC, Barroso I, Beales P, Bentham J, Bhattacharya S, Birney E, Blackwood D, Bobrow M, Bochukova E, Bolton P, Bounds R, Boustred C, Breen G, Calissano M, Carss K, Chatterjee K, Chen L, Ciampi A, Cirak S, Clapham P, Clement G, Coates G, Collier D, Cosgrove C, Cox T, Craddock N, Crooks L, Curran S, Curtis D, Daly A, Day-Williams A, Day IN, Down T, Du Y, Dunham I, Edkins S, Ellis P, Evans D, Faroogi S, Fatemifar G, Fitzpatrick DR, Flicek P, Flyod J, Foley AR, Franklin CS, Futema M, Gallagher L, Geihs M, Geschwind D, Griffin H, Grozeva D, Guo X, Guo X, Gurling H, Hart D, Hendricks A, Holmans P, Howie B, Huang L, Hubbard T, Humphries SE, Hurles ME, Hysi P, Jackson DK, Jamshidi Y, Jing T, Joyce C, Kaye J, Keane T, Keogh J, Kemp J, Kennedy K, Kolb-Kokocinski A, Lachance G, Langford C, Lawson D, Lee I, Lek M, Liang J, Lin H, Li R, Li Y, Liu R, Lönnqvist J, Lopes M, Iotchkova V, MacArthur D, Marchini J, Maslen J, Massimo M, Mathieson I, Marenne G, McGuffin P, McIntosh A, McKechanie AG, McQuillin A, Metrustry S, Mitchison H, Moayyeri A, Morris J, Muntoni F, Northstone K, O'Donnovan M, Onoufriadis A, O'Rahilly S, Oualkacha K, Owen MJ, Palotie A, Panoutsopoulou K, Parker V, Parr JR, Paternoster L, Paunio T, Payne F, Pietilainen O, Plagnol V, Quaye L, Quail MA, Raymond L, Rehnström K, Ring S, Ritchie GR, Roberts N, Savage DB, Scambler P, Schiffels S, Schmidts M, Schoenmakers N, Semple RK, Serra E, Sharp SI, Shin SY, Skuse D, Small K, Southam L, Spasic-Boskovic O, St Clair D, Stalker J, Stevens E, St Pourcian B, Sun J, Suvisaari J, Tachmazidou I, Tobin MD, Valdes A, Van Kogelenberg M, Vijayarangakannan P, Visscher PM, Wain LV, Walters JT, Wang G, Wang J, Wang Y, Ward K, Wheeler E, Whyte T, Williams H, Williamson KA, Wilson C, Wong K, Xu C, Yang J, Zhang F, Zhang P, Aitman T, Alachkar H, Ali S, Allen L, Allsup D, Ambegaonkar G, Anderson J, Antrobus R, Armstrong R, Arno G, Arumugakani G, Ashford S, Astle W, Attwood A, Austin S, Bacchelli C, Bakchoul T, Bariana TK, Baxendale H, Bennett D, Bethune C, Bibi S, Bitner-Glindzicz M, Bleda M, Boggard H, Bolton-Maggs P, Booth C, Bradley JR, Brady A, Brown M, Browning M, Bryson C, Burns S, Calleja P, Canham N, Carmichael J, Carss K, Caulfield M, Chalmers E, Chandra A, Chinnery P, Chitre M, Church C, Clement E, Clements-Brod N, Clowes V, Coghlan G, Collins P, Cooper N, Creaser-Myers A, DaCosta R, Daugherty L, Davies S, Davis J, De Vries M, Deegan P, Deevi SV, Deshpande C, Devlin L, Dewhurst E, Doffinger R, Dormand N, Drewe E, Edgar D, Egner W, Erber WN, Erwood M, Everington T, Favier R, Firth H, Fletcher D, Flinter F, Fox JC, Frary A, Freson K, Furie B, Furnell A, Gale D, Gardham A, Gattens M, Ghali N, Ghataorhe PK, Ghurye R, Gibbs S, Gilmour K, Gissen P, Goddard S, Gomez K, Gordins P, Gräf S, Greene D, Greenhalgh A, Greinacher A, Grigoriadou S, Grozeva D, Hackett S, Hadinnapola C, Hague R, Haimel M, Halmagyi C, Hammerton T, Hart D, Hayman G, Heemskerk JW, Henderson R, Hensiek A, Henskens Y, Herwadkar A, Holden S, Holder M, Holder S, Hu F, Huissoon A, Humbert M, Hurst J, James R, Jolles S, Josifova D, Kazmi R, Keeling D, Kelleher P, Kelly AM, Kennedy F, Kiely D, Kingston N, Koziell A, Krishnakumar D, Kuijpers TW, Kumararatne D, Kurian M, Laffan MA, Lambert MP, Allen HL, Lawrie A, Lear S, Lees M, Lentaigne C, Liesner R, Linger R, Longhurst H, Lorenzo L, Machado R, Mackenzie R, MacLaren R, Maher E, Maimaris J, Mangles S, Manson A, Mapeta R, Markus HS, Martin J, Masati L, Mathias M, Matser V, Maw A, McDermott E, McJannet C, Meacham S, Meehan S, Megy K, Mehta S, Michaelides M, Millar CM, Moledina S, Moore A, Morrell N, Mumford A, Murng S, Murphy E, Nejentsev S, Noorani S, Nurden P, Oksenhendler E, Ouwehand WH, Papadia S, Park SM, Parker A, Pasi J, Patch C, Paterson J, Payne J, Peacock A, Peerlinck K, Penkett CJ, Pepke-Zaba J, Perry DJ, Pollock V, Polwarth G, Ponsford M, Qasim W, Quinti I, Rankin S, Rankin J, Raymond FL, Rehnstrom K, Reid E, Rhodes CJ, Richards M, Richardson S, Richter A, Roberts I, Rondina M, Rosser E, Roughley C, Rue-Albrecht K, Samarghitean C, Sanchis-Juan A, Sandford R, Santra S, Sargur R, Savic S, Schulman S, Schulze H, Scott R, Scully M, Seneviratne S, Sewell C, Shamardina O, Shipley D, Simeoni I, Sivapalaratnam S, Smith K, Sohal A, Southgate L, Staines S, Staples E, Stauss H, Stein P, Stephens J, Stirrups K, Stock S, Suntharalingam J, Tait RC, Talks K, Tan Y, Thachil J, Thaventhiran J, Thomas E, Thomas M, Thompson D, Thrasher A, Tischkowitz M, Titterton C, Toh CH, Toshner M, Treacy C, Trembath R, Tuna S, Turek W, Turro E, Van Geet C, Veltman M, Vogt J, von Ziegenweldt J, Vonk Noordegraaf A, Wakeling E, Wanjiku I, Warner TQ, Wassmer E, Watkins H, Webster A, Welch S, Westbury S, Wharton J, Whitehorn D, Wilkins M, Willcocks L, Williamson C, Woods G, Wort J, Yeatman N, Yong P, Young T, Yu P. Bi-allelic Loss-of-Function CACNA1B Mutations in Progressive Epilepsy-Dyskinesia. Am J Hum Genet 2019; 104:948-956. [PMID: 30982612 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2019.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The occurrence of non-epileptic hyperkinetic movements in the context of developmental epileptic encephalopathies is an increasingly recognized phenomenon. Identification of causative mutations provides an important insight into common pathogenic mechanisms that cause both seizures and abnormal motor control. We report bi-allelic loss-of-function CACNA1B variants in six children from three unrelated families whose affected members present with a complex and progressive neurological syndrome. All affected individuals presented with epileptic encephalopathy, severe neurodevelopmental delay (often with regression), and a hyperkinetic movement disorder. Additional neurological features included postnatal microcephaly and hypotonia. Five children died in childhood or adolescence (mean age of death: 9 years), mainly as a result of secondary respiratory complications. CACNA1B encodes the pore-forming subunit of the pre-synaptic neuronal voltage-gated calcium channel Cav2.2/N-type, crucial for SNARE-mediated neurotransmission, particularly in the early postnatal period. Bi-allelic loss-of-function variants in CACNA1B are predicted to cause disruption of Ca2+ influx, leading to impaired synaptic neurotransmission. The resultant effect on neuronal function is likely to be important in the development of involuntary movements and epilepsy. Overall, our findings provide further evidence for the key role of Cav2.2 in normal human neurodevelopment.
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Clarke AJ, Wallgren-Pettersson C. Ethics in genetic counselling. J Community Genet 2019; 10:3-33. [PMID: 29949066 PMCID: PMC6325035 DOI: 10.1007/s12687-018-0371-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2016] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Difficult ethical issues arise for patients and professionals in medical genetics, and often relate to the patient's family or their social context. Tackling these issues requires sensitivity to nuances of communication and a commitment to clarity and consistency. It also benefits from an awareness of different approaches to ethical theory. Many of the ethical problems encountered in genetics relate to tensions between the wishes or interests of different people, sometimes even people who do not (yet) exist or exist as embryos, either in an established pregnancy or in vitro. Concern for the long-term welfare of a child or young person, or possible future children, or for other members of the family, may lead to tensions felt by the patient (client) in genetic counselling. Differences in perspective may also arise between the patient and professional when the latter recommends disclosure of information to relatives and the patient finds that too difficult, or when the professional considers the genetic testing of a child, sought by parents, to be inappropriate. The expectations of a patient's community may also lead to the differences in perspective between patient and counsellor. Recent developments of genetic technology permit genome-wide investigations. These have generated additional and more complex data that amplify and exacerbate some pre-existing ethical problems, including those presented by incidental (additional sought and secondary) findings and the recognition of variants currently of uncertain significance, so that reports of genomic investigations may often be provisional rather than definitive. Experience is being gained with these problems but substantial challenges are likely to persist in the long term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angus J Clarke
- Institute of Medical Genetics, Division of Cancer & Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff, Wales, CF14 4XN, UK.
| | - Carina Wallgren-Pettersson
- The Folkhaelsan Department of Medical Genetics, Topeliusgatan, 20 00250, Helsinki, Finland
- The Folkhaelsan Institute of Genetics and the Department of Medical and Clinical Genetics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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Beck S, Berner AM, Bignell G, Bond M, Callanan MJ, Chervova O, Conde L, Corpas M, Ecker S, Elliott HR, Fioramonti SA, Flanagan AM, Gaentzsch R, Graham D, Gribbin D, Guerra-Assunção JA, Hamoudi R, Harding V, Harrison PL, Herrero J, Hofmann J, Jones E, Khan S, Kaye J, Kerr P, Libertini E, Marks L, McCormack L, Moghul I, Pontikos N, Rajanayagam S, Rana K, Semega-Janneh M, Smith CP, Strom L, Umur S, Webster AP, Williams EH, Wint K, Wood JN. Personal Genome Project UK (PGP-UK): a research and citizen science hybrid project in support of personalized medicine. BMC Med Genomics 2018; 11:108. [PMID: 30482208 PMCID: PMC6257975 DOI: 10.1186/s12920-018-0423-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Accepted: 10/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Molecular analyses such as whole-genome sequencing have become routine and are expected to be transformational for future healthcare and lifestyle decisions. Population-wide implementation of such analyses is, however, not without challenges, and multiple studies are ongoing to identify what these are and explore how they can be addressed. METHODS Defined as a research project, the Personal Genome Project UK (PGP-UK) is part of the global PGP network and focuses on open data sharing and citizen science to advance and accelerate personalized genomics and medicine. RESULTS Here we report our findings on using an open consent recruitment protocol, active participant involvement, open access release of personal genome, methylome and transcriptome data and associated analyses, including 47 new variants predicted to affect gene function and innovative reports based on the analysis of genetic and epigenetic variants. For this pilot study, we recruited 10 participants willing to actively engage as citizen scientists with the project. In addition, we introduce Genome Donation as a novel mechanism for openly sharing previously restricted data and discuss the first three donations received. Lastly, we present GenoME, a free, open-source educational app suitable for the lay public to allow exploration of personal genomes. CONCLUSIONS Our findings demonstrate that citizen science-based approaches like PGP-UK have an important role to play in the public awareness, acceptance and implementation of genomics and personalized medicine.
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Phenome-wide association studies across large population cohorts support drug target validation. Nat Commun 2018; 9:4285. [PMID: 30327483 PMCID: PMC6191429 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06540-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Accepted: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenome-wide association studies (PheWAS) have been proposed as a possible aid in drug development through elucidating mechanisms of action, identifying alternative indications, or predicting adverse drug events (ADEs). Here, we select 25 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) linked through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to 19 candidate drug targets for common disease indications. We interrogate these SNPs by PheWAS in four large cohorts with extensive health information (23andMe, UK Biobank, FINRISK, CHOP) for association with 1683 binary endpoints in up to 697,815 individuals and conduct meta-analyses for 145 mapped disease endpoints. Our analyses replicate 75% of known GWAS associations (P < 0.05) and identify nine study-wide significant novel associations (of 71 with FDR < 0.1). We describe associations that may predict ADEs, e.g., acne, high cholesterol, gout, and gallstones with rs738409 (p.I148M) in PNPLA3 and asthma with rs1990760 (p.T946A) in IFIH1. Our results demonstrate PheWAS as a powerful addition to the toolkit for drug discovery. Testing the association between genetic variants and a range of phenotypes can assist drug development. Here, in a phenome-wide association study in up to 697,815 individuals, Diogo et al. identify genotype–phenotype associations predicting efficacy, alternative indications or adverse drug effects.
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9
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Meeting Patients' Right to the Correct Diagnosis: Ongoing International Initiatives on Undiagnosed Rare Diseases and Ethical and Social Issues. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2018; 15:ijerph15102072. [PMID: 30248891 PMCID: PMC6210164 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15102072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2018] [Revised: 09/14/2018] [Accepted: 09/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The time required to reach a correct diagnosis is a key concern for rare disease (RD) patients. Diagnostic delay can be intolerably long, often described as an “odyssey” and, for some, a diagnosis may remain frustratingly elusive. The International Rare Disease Research Consortium proposed, as ultimate goal for 2017–2027, to enable all people with a suspected RD to be diagnosed within one year of presentation, if the disorder is known. Subsequently, unsolved cases would enter a globally coordinated diagnostic and research pipeline. In-depth analysis of the genotype through next generation sequencing, together with a standardized in-depth phenotype description and sophisticated high-throughput approaches, have been applied as diagnostic tools to increase the chance of a timely and accurate diagnosis. The success of this approach is evident in the Orphanet database. From 2010 to March 2017 over 600 new RDs and roughly 3600 linked genes have been described and identified. However, combination of -omics and phenotype data, as well as international sharing of this information, has raised ethical concerns. Values to be assessed include not only patient autonomy but also family implications, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, solidarity and reciprocity, which must be respected and promoted and, at the same time, balanced among each other. In this work we suggest that, to maximize patients’ involvement in the search for a diagnosis and identification of new causative genes, undiagnosed patients should have the possibility to: (1) actively participate in the description of their phenotype; (2) choose the level of visibility of their profile in matchmaking databases; (3) express their preferences regarding return of new findings, in particular which level of Variant of Unknown Significance (VUS) significance should be considered relevant to them. The quality of the relationship between individual patients and physicians, and between the patient community and the scientific community, is critically important for optimizing the use of available data and enabling international collaboration in order to provide a diagnosis, and the attached support, to unsolved cases. The contribution of patients to collecting and coding data comprehensively is critical for efficient use of data downstream of data collection.
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10
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Minion JT, Butcher F, Timpson N, Murtagh MJ. The ethics conundrum in Recall by Genotype (RbG) research: Perspectives from birth cohort participants. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202502. [PMID: 30114272 PMCID: PMC6095592 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2017] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Recall by genotype (RbG) research recruits on the basis of genetic variation. Increased use of this approach presents an ethical conundrum for cohort studies/biobanks: whether to inform individuals of their genetic information and deviate from standard practice of non-disclosure of results, or mask this information at the level of the individual participant. This paper examines the perspectives of research study participants on RbG research. METHODS Fifty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted with young adult participants of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Topics included understandings of RbG research, expectations around recruitment and communication of research findings. RESULTS Participants uniformly expressed a deep trust and faith in ALSPAC and considered themselves part of the ALSPAC team. Such perspectives, alongside a limited knowledge of genetics and modest interest in reported research outcomes, meant few participants reported immediate concerns about being recruited by genotype. CONCLUSION Our findings highlight the responsibility and duty of care on RbG researchers, and longitudinal studies more generally, and the importance of solidarity, reciprocity and co-production in study-participant relations. As such, we consider existing recommendations for conducting RbG research in longitudinal studies in light of our results and speak to recent changes in the approach used by ALSPAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel T. Minion
- Policy, Ethics and Life Sciences (PEALS) Research Centre, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | | | - Nicholas Timpson
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Madeleine J. Murtagh
- Policy, Ethics and Life Sciences (PEALS) Research Centre, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
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11
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Corbin LJ, Tan VY, Hughes DA, Wade KH, Paul DS, Tansey KE, Butcher F, Dudbridge F, Howson JM, Jallow MW, John C, Kingston N, Lindgren CM, O'Donavan M, O'Rahilly S, Owen MJ, Palmer CNA, Pearson ER, Scott RA, van Heel DA, Whittaker J, Frayling T, Tobin MD, Wain LV, Smith GD, Evans DM, Karpe F, McCarthy MI, Danesh J, Franks PW, Timpson NJ. Formalising recall by genotype as an efficient approach to detailed phenotyping and causal inference. Nat Commun 2018; 9:711. [PMID: 29459775 PMCID: PMC5818506 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03109-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 01/19/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Detailed phenotyping is required to deepen our understanding of the biological mechanisms behind genetic associations. In addition, the impact of potentially modifiable risk factors on disease requires analytical frameworks that allow causal inference. Here, we discuss the characteristics of Recall-by-Genotype (RbG) as a study design aimed at addressing both these needs. We describe two broad scenarios for the application of RbG: studies using single variants and those using multiple variants. We consider the efficacy and practicality of the RbG approach, provide a catalogue of UK-based resources for such studies and present an online RbG study planner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J Corbin
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Vanessa Y Tan
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - David A Hughes
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Kaitlin H Wade
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Dirk S Paul
- MRC/BHF Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB1 8RN, UK
- British Heart Foundation (BHF) Centre of Excellence, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Katherine E Tansey
- Core Bioinformatics and Statistics Team, College of Biomedical & Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3XQ, UK
| | - Frances Butcher
- Oxford School of Public Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK
| | - Frank Dudbridge
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Joanna M Howson
- MRC/BHF Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB1 8RN, UK
| | - Momodou W Jallow
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
- MRC Unit The Gambia (MRCG), Atlantic Boulevard, Fajara, P.O. Box 273, Banjul, Gambia
| | - Catherine John
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Nathalie Kingston
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) BioResource for Translational Research in Common and Rare Diseases & NIHR BioResource Centre Cambridge, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Cecilia M Lindgren
- Big Data Institute at the Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7FZ, UK
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7BN, UK
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
- NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, OUH Hospital, Oxford, OX4 2PG, UK
| | - Michael O'Donavan
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Stephen O'Rahilly
- Metabolic Research Laboratories, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Michael J Owen
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Colin N A Palmer
- Medical Research Institute, University of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, DD1 9SY, UK
| | - Ewan R Pearson
- Medical Research Institute, University of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, DD1 9SY, UK
| | - Robert A Scott
- Quantitative Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Stevenage, SG1 2NY, UK
| | - David A van Heel
- Blizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 2AT, UK
| | - John Whittaker
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
- Statistical Genetics, Projects, Clinical Platforms, and Sciences (PCPS), GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA
| | - Tim Frayling
- Genetics of Complex Traits, Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Science, University of Exeter Medical School, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK
| | - Martin D Tobin
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, LE3 9QP, UK
| | - Louise V Wain
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, LE3 9QP, UK
| | - George Davey Smith
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - David M Evans
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
- The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Fredrik Karpe
- Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LE, UK
- NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7LE, UK
| | - Mark I McCarthy
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7BN, UK
- Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LE, UK
- NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7LE, UK
| | - John Danesh
- MRC/BHF Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB1 8RN, UK
- British Heart Foundation (BHF) Centre of Excellence, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Human Genetics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1HH, UK
- NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Donor Health and Genomics, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SR, UK
| | - Paul W Franks
- Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LE, UK
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, SE-205 02, Sweden
- Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Section for Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, 907 37, Sweden
- Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Nicholas J Timpson
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.
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Wiewiórka MS, Wysakowicz DP, Okoniewski MJ, Gambin T. Benchmarking distributed data warehouse solutions for storing genomic variant information. DATABASE-THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL DATABASES AND CURATION 2018; 2017:3953981. [PMID: 29220442 PMCID: PMC5504537 DOI: 10.1093/database/bax049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2016] [Accepted: 05/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Database URL https://github.com/ZSI-Bio/variantsdwh.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek S Wiewiórka
- Institute of Computer Science, Warsaw University of Technology, Nowowiejska 15/19, Warsaw 00-665, Poland
| | - Dawid P Wysakowicz
- Institute of Computer Science, Warsaw University of Technology, Nowowiejska 15/19, Warsaw 00-665, Poland
| | - Michal J Okoniewski
- Scientific IT Services, ETH Zurich, Weinbergstrasse 11, Zurich 8092, Switzerland
| | - Tomasz Gambin
- Institute of Computer Science, Warsaw University of Technology, Nowowiejska 15/19, Warsaw 00-665, Poland.,Department of Medical Genetics, Institute of Mother and Child, Kasprzaka 17a, Warsaw 01-211, Poland
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13
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Laffan M. Ein genomweiter Ansatz bei Thrombozyten-und Gerinnungsstörungen. Hamostaseologie 2017; 36:161-6. [DOI: 10.5482/hamo-14-11-0056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2014] [Accepted: 01/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
ZusammenfassungDie Sequenzierung von hunderttausenden menschlichen Exomen und Gesamtgenomen bietet einen immer genaueren und vollständigeren Katalog menschlicher Genvarianten. Die ersten Studien zum Verständnis von Thrombozytenstörungen anhand von genomweiten Daten wurden als genomweite Assoziationsstudien durchgeführt, in denen Loci identifiziert wurden, die mit Variationen der Blutzellparameter assoziiert sind. In diesen Studien wurden Norm-varianten genutzt, um die entsprechenden genetische Variation zu finden. Als nächstes wollten wir die genetische Grundlage von Gerinnungsstörungen untersuchen, die einen Schlüssel für neue Gene liefern könnte, welche Thrombozyten- und Gerinnungsfunktionen steuern. Das BRIDGE-Konsortium (www.bridgestudy. org) wird vom NIHR finanziert und bringt 13 Genforschungsprojekte zu seltenen Krankheiten zusammen. Ziel dieser Projekte ist die Erforschung bislang unterdiagnostizierter seltener Erbkrankheiten und die Identifizierung der zugrunde liegenden Mutationen. Wir verwendeten eine Cluster-Analyse, basierend auf der Human Phenotype Ontology, kombiniert mit Next-Generation Sequenzierungstechniken, um Patienten mit ähnlichen Phänotypen, die vermutlich aus den gleichen Gendefekten hervorgehen, leichter zu identifizieren. Vorläufige Ergebnisse bestätigen dieses Vorgehen in Clustern und ergaben auch eine Reihe neuer Gene, die für die normale und die pathologische Thrombozytenphysiologie wichtig sind.
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14
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Carrasco-Ramiro F, Peiró-Pastor R, Aguado B. Human genomics projects and precision medicine. Gene Ther 2017; 24:551-561. [PMID: 28805797 DOI: 10.1038/gt.2017.77] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2017] [Revised: 07/31/2017] [Accepted: 08/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP) in 2001 opened the floodgates to a deeper understanding of medicine. There are dozens of HGP-like projects which involve from a few tens to several million genomes currently in progress, which vary from having specialized goals or a more general approach. However, data generation, storage, management and analysis in public and private cloud computing platforms have raised concerns about privacy and security. The knowledge gained from further research has changed the field of genomics and is now slowly permeating into clinical medicine. The new precision (personalized) medicine, where genome sequencing and data analysis are essential components, allows tailored diagnosis and treatment according to the information from the patient's own genome and specific environmental factors. P4 (predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory) medicine is introducing new concepts, challenges and opportunities. This review summarizes current sequencing technologies, concentrates on ongoing human genomics projects, and provides some examples in which precision medicine has already demonstrated clinical impact in diagnosis and/or treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Carrasco-Ramiro
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO) CSIC-UAM. Genomics and Next Generation Sequencing Service. Campus de Excelencia Internacional (CEI) UAM+CSIC. Nicolás Cabrera 1, Madrid, Cantoblanco, Spain
| | - R Peiró-Pastor
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO) CSIC-UAM. Genomics and Next Generation Sequencing Service. Campus de Excelencia Internacional (CEI) UAM+CSIC. Nicolás Cabrera 1, Madrid, Cantoblanco, Spain
| | - B Aguado
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO) CSIC-UAM. Genomics and Next Generation Sequencing Service. Campus de Excelencia Internacional (CEI) UAM+CSIC. Nicolás Cabrera 1, Madrid, Cantoblanco, Spain
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15
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Gonen S, Ros-Freixedes R, Battagin M, Gorjanc G, Hickey JM. A method for the allocation of sequencing resources in genotyped livestock populations. Genet Sel Evol 2017; 49:47. [PMID: 28521728 PMCID: PMC5437657 DOI: 10.1186/s12711-017-0322-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2016] [Accepted: 05/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background This paper describes a method, called AlphaSeqOpt, for the allocation of sequencing resources in livestock populations with existing phased genomic data to maximise the ability to phase and impute sequenced haplotypes into the whole population. Methods We present two algorithms. The first selects focal individuals that collectively represent the maximum possible portion of the haplotype diversity in the population. The second allocates a fixed sequencing budget among the families of focal individuals to enable phasing of their haplotypes at the sequence level. We tested the performance of the two algorithms in simulated pedigrees. For each pedigree, we evaluated the proportion of population haplotypes that are carried by the focal individuals and compared our results to a variant of the widely-used key ancestors approach and to two haplotype-based approaches. We calculated the expected phasing accuracy of the haplotypes of a focal individual at the sequence level given the proportion of the fixed sequencing budget allocated to its family. Results AlphaSeqOpt maximises the ability to capture and phase the most frequent haplotypes in a population in three ways. First, it selects focal individuals that collectively represent a larger portion of the population haplotype diversity than existing methods. Second, it selects focal individuals from across the pedigree whose haplotypes can be easily phased using family-based phasing and imputation algorithms, thus maximises the ability to impute sequence into the rest of the population. Third, it allocates more of the fixed sequencing budget to focal individuals whose haplotypes are more frequent in the population than to focal individuals whose haplotypes are less frequent. Unlike existing methods, we additionally present an algorithm to allocate part of the sequencing budget to the families (i.e. immediate ancestors) of focal individuals to ensure that their haplotypes can be phased at the sequence level, which is essential for enabling and maximising subsequent sequence imputation. Conclusions We present a new method for the allocation of a fixed sequencing budget to focal individuals and their families such that the final sequenced haplotypes, when phased at the sequence level, represent the maximum possible portion of the haplotype diversity in the population that can be sequenced and phased at that budget. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12711-017-0322-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serap Gonen
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, UK
| | - Roger Ros-Freixedes
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, UK
| | - Mara Battagin
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, UK
| | - Gregor Gorjanc
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, UK
| | - John M Hickey
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, UK.
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16
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Abstract
Genetic diagnosis in families with inherited platelet disorders (IPD) is not performed widely because of the genetic heterogeneity of this group of disorders and because in most cases, it is not possible to select single candidate genes for analysis using clinical and laboratory phenotypes. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology has revolutionized the scale and cost-effectiveness of genetic testing, and has emerged as a valuable tool for IPD. This review examines the potential utility of NGS as a diagnostic tool to streamline detection of causal variants in known IPD genes and as a vehicle for new gene discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- S K Westbury
- School of Clinical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - A D Mumford
- School of Clinical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.,Bristol Haemophilia Comprehensive Care Centre, Bristol, UK.,West of England Genomic Medicine Centre, Bristol, UK
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17
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Leitsalu L, Alavere H, Jacquemont S, Kolk A, Maillard AM, Reigo A, Nõukas M, Reymond A, Männik K, Ng PC, Metspalu A. Reporting incidental findings of genomic disorder-associated copy number variants to unselected biobank participants. Per Med 2016; 13:303-314. [PMID: 29749813 DOI: 10.2217/pme-2016-0009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Procedural guidelines for disclosure of incidental genomic information are lacking. METHODS We introduce a method and evaluated the impact of returning results to population biobank participants with 16p11.2 copy number variants, which are commonly associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and BMI imbalance. Of the 7877 participants, 11 carriers were detected. Eight participants were informed of their carrier status and surveyed 11-17 months later. RESULTS All participants demonstrated preference for disclosure. Although two participants experienced worry, all five survey respondents rated receiving this information favorably. One participant reported modifications in treatment and three felt that their treatment/condition had since improved. CONCLUSION This approach can be adapted and applied for the return of incidental findings to biobank participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liis Leitsalu
- Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu (EGCUT), Tartu, 51010, Estonia.,Institute of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Tartu, 51010, Estonia
| | - Helene Alavere
- Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu (EGCUT), Tartu, 51010, Estonia
| | - Sébastien Jacquemont
- Service of Medical Genetics, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, 1011, Switzerland
| | - Anneli Kolk
- Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu (EGCUT), Tartu, 51010, Estonia.,Department of Neurology, Children's Clinic of Tartu University Hospital, Tartu, 50406, Estonia
| | - Anne M Maillard
- Service of Medical Genetics, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, 1011, Switzerland
| | - Anu Reigo
- Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu (EGCUT), Tartu, 51010, Estonia
| | - Margit Nõukas
- Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu (EGCUT), Tartu, 51010, Estonia.,Institute of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Tartu, 51010, Estonia
| | - Alexandre Reymond
- Center for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland
| | - Katrin Männik
- Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu (EGCUT), Tartu, 51010, Estonia.,Center for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland
| | - Pauline C Ng
- Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu (EGCUT), Tartu, 51010, Estonia.,Genome Institute of Singapore, Singapore, 138672, Singapore
| | - Andres Metspalu
- Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu (EGCUT), Tartu, 51010, Estonia.,Institute of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Tartu, 51010, Estonia
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18
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Budin-Ljøsne I, Mascalzoni D, Soini S, Machado H, Kaye J, Bentzen HB, Rial-Sebbag E, D'Abramo F, Witt M, Schamps G, Katić V, Krajnovic D, Harris JR. Feedback of Individual Genetic Results to Research Participants: Is It Feasible in Europe? Biopreserv Biobank 2016; 14:241-8. [PMID: 27082461 PMCID: PMC4913503 DOI: 10.1089/bio.2015.0115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is growing consensus that individual genetic research results that are scientifically robust, analytically valid, and clinically actionable should be offered to research participants. However, the general practice in European research projects is that results are usually not provided to research participants for many reasons. This article reports on the views of European experts and scholars who are members of the European COST Action CHIP ME IS1303 (Citizen's Health through public-private Initiatives: Public health, Market and Ethical perspectives) regarding challenges to the feedback of individual genetic results to research participants in Europe and potential strategies to address these challenges. MATERIALS AND METHODS A consultation of the COST Action members was conducted through an email survey and a workshop. The results from the consultation were analyzed following a conventional content analysis approach. RESULTS Legal frameworks, professional guidelines, and financial, organizational, and human resources to support the feedback of results are largely missing in Europe. Necessary steps to facilitate the feedback process include clarifying legal requirements to the feedback of results, developing harmonized European best practices, promoting interdisciplinary and cross-institutional collaboration, designing educational programs and cost-efficient IT-based platforms, involving research ethics committees, and documenting the health benefits and risks of the feedback process. CONCLUSIONS Coordinated efforts at pan-European level are needed to enable equitable, scientifically sound, and socially robust feedback of results to research participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Budin-Ljøsne
- Centre for Medical Ethics, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Norwegian Cancer Genomics Consortium, Kreftgenomikk.no, Oslo, Norway
| | - Deborah Mascalzoni
- Center for Research Ethics and Bioethics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Center for Biomedicine, EURAC, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Sirpa Soini
- Helsinki Biobank, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Helena Machado
- Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Jane Kaye
- Nuffield Department of Population Health, Centre for Health, Law and Emerging Technologies (HeLEX), University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Heidi Beate Bentzen
- Centre for Medical Ethics, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Norwegian Cancer Genomics Consortium, Kreftgenomikk.no, Oslo, Norway
- Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | | | - Michał Witt
- Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Geneviève Schamps
- Centre for Medical and Biomedical Law, Université Catholique de Louvain, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Višnja Katić
- School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
| | | | - Jennifer R. Harris
- Department of Genetics and Bioinformatics, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
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Chen R, Shi L, Hakenberg J, Naughton B, Sklar P, Zhang J, Zhou H, Tian L, Prakash O, Lemire M, Sleiman P, Cheng WY, Chen W, Shah H, Shen Y, Fromer M, Omberg L, Deardorff MA, Zackai E, Bobe JR, Levin E, Hudson TJ, Groop L, Wang J, Hakonarson H, Wojcicki A, Diaz GA, Edelmann L, Schadt EE, Friend SH. Analysis of 589,306 genomes identifies individuals resilient to severe Mendelian childhood diseases. Nat Biotechnol 2016; 34:531-8. [PMID: 27065010 DOI: 10.1038/nbt.3514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 209] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2015] [Accepted: 02/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Genetic studies of human disease have traditionally focused on the detection of disease-causing mutations in afflicted individuals. Here we describe a complementary approach that seeks to identify healthy individuals resilient to highly penetrant forms of genetic childhood disorders. A comprehensive screen of 874 genes in 589,306 genomes led to the identification of 13 adults harboring mutations for 8 severe Mendelian conditions, with no reported clinical manifestation of the indicated disease. Our findings demonstrate the promise of broadening genetic studies to systematically search for well individuals who are buffering the effects of rare, highly penetrant, deleterious mutations. They also indicate that incomplete penetrance for Mendelian diseases is likely more common than previously believed. The identification of resilient individuals may provide a first step toward uncovering protective genetic variants that could help elucidate the mechanisms of Mendelian diseases and new therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong Chen
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Lisong Shi
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Jörg Hakenberg
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | | | - Pamela Sklar
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Friedman Brain Institute and Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | | | | | - Lifeng Tian
- Center for Applied Genomics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Om Prakash
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Diabetes &Endocrinology, Lund University Diabetes Center, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
| | - Mathieu Lemire
- Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Patrick Sleiman
- Center for Applied Genomics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Wei-Yi Cheng
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | | | - Hardik Shah
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | | | - Menachem Fromer
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Friedman Brain Institute and Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | | | - Matthew A Deardorff
- Center for Applied Genomics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Elaine Zackai
- Center for Applied Genomics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jason R Bobe
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Elissa Levin
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Thomas J Hudson
- Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Leif Groop
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Diabetes &Endocrinology, Lund University Diabetes Center, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
| | | | - Hakon Hakonarson
- Center for Applied Genomics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | - George A Diaz
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Lisa Edelmann
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Eric E Schadt
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Stephen H Friend
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Sage Bionetworks, Seattle, Washington, USA
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20
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Beale S, Sanderson D, Sanniti A, Dundar Y, Boland A. A scoping study to explore the cost-effectiveness of next-generation sequencing compared with traditional genetic testing for the diagnosis of learning disabilities in children. Health Technol Assess 2016; 19:1-90. [PMID: 26132578 DOI: 10.3310/hta19460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Learning disability (LD) is a serious and lifelong condition characterised by the impairment of cognitive and adaptive skills. Some cases of LD with unidentified causes may be linked to genetic factors. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques are new approaches to genetic testing that are expected to increase diagnostic yield. OBJECTIVES This scoping study focused on the diagnosis of LD in children and the objectives were to describe current pathways that involve the use of genetic testing; collect stakeholder views on the changes in service provision that would need to be put in place before NGS could be used in clinical practice; describe the new systems and safeguards that would need to be put in place before NGS could be used in clinical practice; and explore the cost-effectiveness of using NGS compared with conventional genetic testing. METHODS A research advisory group was established. This group provided ongoing support by e-mail and telephone through the lifetime of the study and also contributed face-to-face through a workshop. A detailed review of published studies and reports was undertaken. In addition, information was collected through 33 semistructured interviews with key stakeholders. RESULTS NGS techniques consist of targeted gene sequencing, whole-exome sequencing (WES) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Targeted gene panels, which are the least complex, are in their infancy in clinical settings. Some interviewees thought that during the next 3-5 years targeted gene panels would be superseded by WES. If NGS technologies were to be fully introduced into clinical practice in the future a number of factors would need to be overcome. The main resource-related issues pertaining to service provision are the need for additional computing capacity, more bioinformaticians, more genetic counsellors and also genetics-related training for the public and a wide range of staff. It is also considered that, as the number of children undergoing genetic testing increases, there will be an increase in demand for information and support for families. The main issues relating to systems and safeguards are giving informed consent, sharing unanticipated findings, developing ethical and other frameworks, equity of access, data protection, data storage and data sharing. There is little published evidence on the cost-effectiveness of NGS technologies. The major barriers to determining cost-effectiveness are the uncertainty around diagnostic yield, the heterogeneity of diagnostic pathways and the lack of information on the impact of a diagnosis on health care, social care, educational support needs and the wider family. Furthermore, as NGS techniques are currently being used only in research, costs and benefits to the NHS are unclear. CONCLUSIONS NGS technologies are at an early stage of development and it is too soon to say whether they can offer value for money to the NHS as part of the LD diagnostic process. Substantial organisational changes, as well as new systems and safeguards, would be required if NGS technologies were to be introduced into NHS clinical practice. Considerable further research is required to establish whether using NGS technologies to diagnose learning disabilities is clinically effective and cost-effective. FUNDING The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Beale
- Liverpool Reviews and Implementation Group (LRiG), University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | | | - Anna Sanniti
- Liverpool Reviews and Implementation Group (LRiG), University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Yenal Dundar
- Liverpool Reviews and Implementation Group (LRiG), University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Angela Boland
- Liverpool Reviews and Implementation Group (LRiG), University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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21
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Souzeau E, Burdon KP, Mackey DA, Hewitt AW, Savarirayan R, Otlowski M, Craig JE. Ethical Considerations for the Return of Incidental Findings in Ophthalmic Genomic Research. Transl Vis Sci Technol 2016; 5:3. [PMID: 26929883 PMCID: PMC4757467 DOI: 10.1167/tvst.5.1.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2015] [Accepted: 11/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Whole genome and whole exome sequencing technologies are being increasingly used in research. However, they have the potential to identify incidental findings (IF), findings not related to the indication of the test, raising questions regarding researchers' responsibilities toward the return of this information to participants. In this study we discuss the ethical considerations related to the return of IF to research participants, emphasizing that the type of the study matters and describing the current practice standards. There are currently no legal obligations for researchers to return IF to participants, but some viewpoints consider that researchers might have an ethical one to return IF of clinical validity and clinical utility and that are actionable. The reality is that most IF are complex to interpret, especially since they were not the indication of the test. The clinical utility often depends on the participants' preferences, which can be challenging to conciliate and relies on participants' understanding. In summary, in the context of a lack of clear guidance, researchers need to have a clear plan for the disclosure or nondisclosure of IF from genomic research, balancing their research goals and resources with the participants' rights and their duty not to harm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuelle Souzeau
- Department of Ophthalmology Flinders University, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Kathryn P. Burdon
- Department of Ophthalmology Flinders University, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, Australia
- Menzies Institute of Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
| | - David A. Mackey
- Menzies Institute of Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
- Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Lions Eye Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Alex W. Hewitt
- Menzies Institute of Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Ravi Savarirayan
- Victorian Clinical Genetics Service, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | | | - Jamie E. Craig
- Department of Ophthalmology Flinders University, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, Australia
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22
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Hakenberg J, Cheng WY, Thomas P, Wang YC, Uzilov AV, Chen R. Integrating 400 million variants from 80,000 human samples with extensive annotations: towards a knowledge base to analyze disease cohorts. BMC Bioinformatics 2016; 17:24. [PMID: 26746786 PMCID: PMC4706706 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-015-0865-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2015] [Accepted: 12/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Data from a plethora of high-throughput sequencing studies is readily available to researchers, providing genetic variants detected in a variety of healthy and disease populations. While each individual cohort helps gain insights into polymorphic and disease-associated variants, a joint perspective can be more powerful in identifying polymorphisms, rare variants, disease-associations, genetic burden, somatic variants, and disease mechanisms. DESCRIPTION We have set up a Reference Variant Store (RVS) containing variants observed in a number of large-scale sequencing efforts, such as 1000 Genomes, ExAC, Scripps Wellderly, UK10K; various genotyping studies; and disease association databases. RVS holds extensive annotations pertaining to affected genes, functional impacts, disease associations, and population frequencies. RVS currently stores 400 million distinct variants observed in more than 80,000 human samples. CONCLUSIONS RVS facilitates cross-study analysis to discover novel genetic risk factors, gene-disease associations, potential disease mechanisms, and actionable variants. Due to its large reference populations, RVS can also be employed for variant filtration and gene prioritization. AVAILABILITY A web interface to public datasets and annotations in RVS is available at https://rvs.u.hpc.mssm.edu/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jörg Hakenberg
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1425 Madison Ave, Box 1498, New York, 10029, USA.
| | - Wei-Yi Cheng
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1425 Madison Ave, Box 1498, New York, 10029, USA.
- Current affiliation: Illumina, Inc., 451 El Camino Real, Suite 210, Santa Clara, 95050, USA.
| | - Philippe Thomas
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1425 Madison Ave, Box 1498, New York, 10029, USA.
- Current affiliation: Roche Parma Research and Early Development, Informatics, Roche Innovation Center New York, 430 East 29th St, New York, 10016, USA.
| | - Ying-Chih Wang
- Department of Computer Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, Berlin, 10099, Germany.
- Current affiliation: German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Alt Moabit 91c, Berlin, 10559, Germany.
| | - Andrew V Uzilov
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1425 Madison Ave, Box 1498, New York, 10029, USA.
| | - Rong Chen
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1425 Madison Ave, Box 1498, New York, 10029, USA.
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23
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Abstract
The contribution of rare and low-frequency variants to human traits is largely unexplored. Here we describe insights from sequencing whole genomes (low read depth, 7×) or exomes (high read depth, 80×) of nearly 10,000 individuals from population-based and disease collections. In extensively phenotyped cohorts we characterize over 24 million novel sequence variants, generate a highly accurate imputation reference panel and identify novel alleles associated with levels of triglycerides (APOB), adiponectin (ADIPOQ) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLR and RGAG1) from single-marker and rare variant aggregation tests. We describe population structure and functional annotation of rare and low-frequency variants, use the data to estimate the benefits of sequencing for association studies, and summarize lessons from disease-specific collections. Finally, we make available an extensive resource, including individual-level genetic and phenotypic data and web-based tools to facilitate the exploration of association results. Low read depth sequencing of whole genomes and high read depth exomes of nearly 10,000 extensively phenotyped individuals are combined to help characterize novel sequence variants, generate a highly accurate imputation reference panel and identify novel alleles associated with lipid-related traits; in addition to describing population structure and providing functional annotation of rare and low-frequency variants the authors use the data to estimate the benefits of sequencing for association studies. This paper, combining data and initial findings from the different arms of the UK10K project, describes insights from low-read-depth sequencing of whole genomes or high-read-depth exome sequencing of nearly 10,000 individuals sampled from a range of disease collections, as well as participants from healthy population based cohorts. The authors characterize novel sequence variants, generate a highly accurate imputation reference panel and identify novel alleles associated with lipid-related traits. In addition to describing population structure and providing functional annotation of rare and low frequency variants, they use the data to estimate the benefits of sequencing for association studies.
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24
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Cantarel BL, Lei Y, Weaver D, Zhu H, Farrell A, Benstead-Hume G, Reese J, Finnell RH. Analysis of archived residual newborn screening blood spots after whole genome amplification. BMC Genomics 2015; 16:602. [PMID: 26268606 PMCID: PMC4535253 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-015-1747-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2015] [Accepted: 07/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Deidentified newborn screening bloodspot samples (NBS) represent a valuable potential resource for genomic research if impediments to whole exome sequencing of NBS deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), including the small amount of genomic DNA in NBS material, can be overcome. For instance, genomic analysis of NBS could be used to define allele frequencies of disease-associated variants in local populations, or to conduct prospective or retrospective studies relating genomic variation to disease emergence in pediatric populations over time. In this study, we compared the recovery of variant calls from exome sequences of amplified NBS genomic DNA to variant calls from exome sequencing of non-amplified NBS DNA from the same individuals. RESULTS Using a standard alignment-based Genome Analysis Toolkit (GATK), we find 62,000-76,000 additional variants in amplified samples. After application of a unique kmer enumeration and variant detection method (RUFUS), only 38,000-47,000 additional variants are observed in amplified gDNA. This result suggests that roughly half of the amplification-introduced variants identified using GATK may be the result of mapping errors and read misalignment. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that it is possible to obtain informative, high-quality data from exome analysis of whole genome amplified NBS with the important caveat that different data generation and analysis methods can affect variant detection accuracy, and the concordance of variant calls in whole-genome amplified and non-amplified exomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandi L. Cantarel
- />Baylor Health, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, 3434 Live Oak Street, Dallas, TX 75204 USA
| | - Yunping Lei
- />Department of Nutritional Sciences, Dell Pediatric Research Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, 1400 Barbara Jordan Blvd, Austin, TX 78723 USA
| | - Daniel Weaver
- />Genformatic, 6301 Highland Hills Drive, Austin, TX 78731 USA
| | - Huiping Zhu
- />Department of Nutritional Sciences, Dell Pediatric Research Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, 1400 Barbara Jordan Blvd, Austin, TX 78723 USA
- />Present address: Asuragen Inc, 2150 Woodward Street #100, Austin, TX 78744 USA
| | - Andrew Farrell
- />Department of Biology, Boston College, Boston, MA 02467 USA
| | | | - Justin Reese
- />Baylor Health, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, 3434 Live Oak Street, Dallas, TX 75204 USA
- />Department of Nutritional Sciences, Dell Pediatric Research Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, 1400 Barbara Jordan Blvd, Austin, TX 78723 USA
- />Genformatic, 6301 Highland Hills Drive, Austin, TX 78731 USA
- />Present address: Asuragen Inc, 2150 Woodward Street #100, Austin, TX 78744 USA
- />Department of Biology, Boston College, Boston, MA 02467 USA
| | - Richard H. Finnell
- />Department of Nutritional Sciences, Dell Pediatric Research Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, 1400 Barbara Jordan Blvd, Austin, TX 78723 USA
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25
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Wang J, Liao J, Zhang J, Cheng WY, Hakenberg J, Ma M, Webb BD, Ramasamudram-Chakravarthi R, Karger L, Mehta L, Kornreich R, Diaz GA, Li S, Edelmann L, Chen R. ClinLabGeneticist: a tool for clinical management of genetic variants from whole exome sequencing in clinical genetic laboratories. Genome Med 2015; 7:77. [PMID: 26338694 PMCID: PMC4558641 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-015-0207-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2015] [Accepted: 07/16/2015] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Routine clinical application of whole exome sequencing remains challenging due to difficulties in variant interpretation, large dataset management, and workflow integration. We describe a tool named ClinLabGeneticist to implement a workflow in clinical laboratories for management of variant assessment in genetic testing and disease diagnosis. We established an extensive variant annotation data source for the identification of pathogenic variants. A dashboard was deployed to aid a multi-step, hierarchical review process leading to final clinical decisions on genetic variant assessment. In addition, a central database was built to archive all of the genetic testing data, notes, and comments throughout the review process, variant validation data by Sanger sequencing as well as the final clinical reports for future reference. The entire workflow including data entry, distribution of work assignments, variant evaluation and review, selection of variants for validation, report generation, and communications between various personnel is integrated into a single data management platform. Three case studies are presented to illustrate the utility of ClinLabGeneticist. ClinLabGeneticist is freely available to academia at http://rongchenlab.org/software/clinlabgeneticist .
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinlian Wang
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Jun Liao
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Jinglan Zhang
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Wei-Yi Cheng
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Jörg Hakenberg
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Meng Ma
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Bryn D Webb
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Rajasekar Ramasamudram-Chakravarthi
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Lisa Karger
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Lakshmi Mehta
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Ruth Kornreich
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - George A Diaz
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Shuyu Li
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Lisa Edelmann
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Rong Chen
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
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26
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Kelly SE, Spector TD, Cherkas LF, Prainsack B, Harris JM. Evaluating the consent preferences of UK research volunteers for genetic and clinical studies. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0118027. [PMID: 25761107 PMCID: PMC4356519 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2014] [Accepted: 01/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To establish the views of research volunteers on the consent process; to explore their views on the consent process in different research scenarios; to inform debate on emerging models of consent for participation in research. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS 2,308 adult volunteers from the TwinsUK Registry (www.twinsuk.ac.uk) completed an online survey about their views on the consent process for use of their DNA and medical information in research. Their views on the re-consenting process in different scenarios were assessed. RESULTS The majority of volunteers preferred to be informed of the identity of the main researcher of a study in which they are participating, which is contrary to current practice. Over 80% were willing to complete the consent process online instead of face to face. On the whole, respondents did not view their DNA differently from their medical information with regard to the consent process. Research participants were more willing to give broad consent to cover future research if their DNA was to be used by the original researcher than by another researcher, even if the disease under investigation varied, in contrast to the traditional 'gold standard' whereby specific consent is required for all new research projects. DISCUSSION In some scenarios, research participants reported that they would be comfortable with not signing a new consent form for future research uses of their data and DNA, and are comfortable with secure, online consent processes rather than traditional face-to-face consent processes. Our findings indicate that the perceived relationship between research participants and researchers plays an important role in shaping preferences regarding the consent process and suggest that this relationship is not captured by traditional consent processes. We argue that the development of new formats of consent should be informed by empirical research on volunteers' perceptions and preferences regarding the consent process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan E. Kelly
- Centre for the Study of Life Sciences (Egenis), University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Timothy D. Spector
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Lynn F. Cherkas
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Barbara Prainsack
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Social Science, Health & Medicine, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Juliette M. Harris
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
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Fernandez CV, O'Rourke PP, Beskow LM. Canadian Research Ethics Board Leadership Attitudes to the Return of Genetic Research Results to Individuals and Their Families. THE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS : A JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS 2015; 43:514-22. [PMID: 26479560 PMCID: PMC4617195 DOI: 10.1111/jlme.12293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Genomic research may uncover results that have direct actionable benefit to the individual. An emerging debate is the degree to which researchers may have responsibility to offer results to the biological relatives of the research participant. In a companion study to one carried out in the United States, we describe the attitudes of Canadian Research Ethics Board (REB) chairs to this issue and their opinions as to the role of the REB in developing related policy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Conrad V Fernandez
- Professor and Head of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Pediatrics, IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University and is cross-appointed in Bioethics, Medicine and Postgraduate Studies. He obtained his Hon. B.Sc. at the University of Western Ontario, his medical degree at McMaster University, specialist certification in Pediatrics as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada at Dalhousie University, and completed specialty training in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the University of British Columbia
| | - P Pearl O'Rourke
- Director of Human Research Affairs at Partners HealthCare in Boston. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She received her B.A. from Yale University, and completed medical school at Dartmouth Medical School and the University of Minnesota Medical School
| | - Laura M Beskow
- Associate Professor at the Duke University School of Medicine and Duke Clinical Research Institute, where her work focuses on ethics and policy issues in biomedical research-particularly human subjects issues in large-scale genomic and translational research. She holds a B.S. in nutrition from Iowa State University, an M.P.H. with a concentration in health law from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in health policy and administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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28
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Wallace SE, Walker NM, Elliott J. Returning findings within longitudinal cohort studies: the 1958 birth cohort as an exemplar. Emerg Themes Epidemiol 2014; 11:10. [PMID: 25126104 PMCID: PMC4131774 DOI: 10.1186/1742-7622-11-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2014] [Accepted: 07/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Population-based, prospective longitudinal cohort studies are considering the issues surrounding returning findings to individuals as a result of genomic and other medical research studies. While guidance is being developed for clinical settings, the process is less clear for those conducting longitudinal research. This paper discusses work conducted on behalf of The UK Cohort and Longitudinal Study Enhancement Resource programme (CLOSER) to examine consent requirements, process considerations and specific examples of potential findings in the context of the 1958 British Birth cohort. Beyond deciding which findings to return, there are questions of whether re-consent is needed and the possible impact on the study, how the feedback process will be managed, and what resources are needed to support that process. Recommendations are made for actions a cohort study should consider taking when making vital decisions regarding returning findings. Any decisions need to be context-specific, arrived at transparently, communicated clearly, and in the best interests of both the participants and the study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan E Wallace
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Adrian Building, University Road, LE1 7RH Leicester, UK
| | - Neil M Walker
- JDRF/Wellcome Trust Diabetes and Inflammation Laboratory, Department of Medical Genetics, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jane Elliott
- Director of Cohorts and Longitudinal Studies Enhancement Resources (CLOSER), Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Institute of Education, London, UK
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