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Currents in Contemporary Bioethics

The Case against Precipitous, Population-Wide, Whole-Genome Sequencing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Mark A. Rothstein
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Extract

From the earliest days of the Human Genome Project, the holy grail of genomics was the ability to perform whole-genome sequencing quickly, accurately, and relatively inexpensively so that the benefits of genomics would be widely available in clinical settings. Although the mythical $1,000 genome sequence seemed elusive for many years, next-generation sequencing technologies and other recent advances clearly indicate that inexpensive whole-genome sequencing is at hand.

Whole-genome sequencing has demonstrable value in elucidating the genetic etiology of rare disorders, in identifying atypical variants in common diseases, in determining pharmacogenomically appropriate drugs and dosages, in performing tumor genome sequencing, and in aiding other clinical applications for the diagnosis and treatment of individuals who are symptomatic or whose family health history places them at substantial risk. Undoubtedly, the clinical applications of wholegenome sequencing will increase in the future.

Type
JLME Column
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 40 , Issue 3 , Fall 2012 , pp. 682 - 689
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2012

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