DNA Direct believes that it is our ethical responsibility to provide patients and consumers with the latest testing options that are scientifically valid and can play an important role in their healthcare management. Pharmacogenetics, often called PGx, is a relatively new and growing area of research. While the tests themselves are accurate, our knowledge of how to translate a specific genetic test result into medically useful information may not be complete. Once sufficient evidence is available to show that a PGx test can help a certain group of patients, it is essential to make testing available quickly and reliably.

For example, research has shown that not all women taking tamoxifen will receive full benefit from the cancer prevention treatment. Knowing her genetic status can help a woman carefully balance risks and benefits to make informed treatment decisions. At this point, however, the information provided by CYP2D6 testing for tamoxifen response is only considered to be helpful for postmenopausal women, who have alternate treatment options. CYP2D6 test results can help patients and their healthcare providers optimize medical management and consequently decrease the risk of breast cancer recurrence.

For women who are pre- or perimenopausal, there are currently no standard treatment alternatives; so for the time being, we err on the side of caution and recommend that these women wait. When more medical evidence is available to show that this testing can be useful for premenopausal or perimenopausal women, we will change our recommendation.