scholarly journals Identifying Aspects of Public Attitudes Toward Whole Genome Sequencing to Inform the Integration of Genomics into Care

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Holly Etchegary ◽  
Daryl Pullman ◽  
Charlene Simmonds ◽  
Zoha Rabie ◽  
Proton Rahman

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The growth of global sequencing initiatives and commercial genomic test offerings suggests the public will increasingly be confronted with decisions about sequencing. Understanding public attitudes can assist efforts to integrate sequencing into care and inform the development of public education and outreach strategies. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A 48-item online survey was advertised on Facebook in Eastern Canada and hosted on SurveyMonkey in late 2018. The survey measured public interest in whole genome sequencing and attitudes toward various aspects of sequencing using vignettes, scaled, and open-ended items. <b><i>Results:</i></b> While interest in sequencing was high, critical attitudes were observed. In particular, items measuring features of patient control and choice regarding genomic data were strongly endorsed by respondents. Majority wanted to specify upfront how their data could be used, retain the ability to withdraw their sample at a later date, sign a written consent form, and speak to a genetic counselor prior to sequencing. Concerns about privacy and unauthorized access to data were frequently observed. Education level was the sociodemographic variable most often related to attitude statements such that those with higher levels of education generally displayed more critical attitudes. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Attitudes identified here could be used to inform the development of implementation strategies for genomic medicine. Findings suggest health systems must address patient concerns about privacy, consent practices, and the strong desire to control what happens to their genomic data through public outreach and education. Specific oversight procedures and policies that are clearly communicated to the public will be required.

Author(s):  
Michael Abbott ◽  
Lynda McKenzie ◽  
Blanca Viridiana Guizar Moran ◽  
Sebastian Heidenreich ◽  
Rodolfo Hernández ◽  
...  

AbstractNovel developments in genomic medicine may reduce the length of the diagnostic odyssey for patients with rare diseases. Health providers must thus decide whether to offer genome sequencing for the diagnosis of rare conditions in a routine clinical setting. We estimated the costs of singleton standard genetic testing and trio-based whole genome sequencing (WGS), in the context of the Scottish Genomes Partnership (SGP) study. We also explored what users value about genomic sequencing. Insights from the costing and value assessments will inform a subsequent economic evaluation of genomic medicine in Scotland. An average cost of £1,841 per singleton was estimated for the standard genetic testing pathway, with significant variability between phenotypes. WGS cost £6625 per family trio, but this estimate reflects the use of WGS during the SGP project and large cost savings may be realised if sequencing was scaled up. Patients and families valued (i) the chance of receiving a diagnosis (and the peace of mind and closure that brings); (ii) the information provided by WGS (including implications for family planning and secondary findings); and (iii) contributions to future research. Our costings will be updated to address limitations of the current study for incorporation in budget impact modelling and cost-effectiveness analysis (cost per diagnostic yield). Our insights into the benefits of WGS will guide the development of a discrete choice experiment valuation study. This will inform a user-perspective cost–benefit analysis of genome-wide sequencing, accounting for the broader non-health outcomes. Taken together, our research will inform the long-term strategic development of NHS Scotland clinical genetics testing services, and will be of benefit to others seeking to undertake similar evaluations in different contexts.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Sanchini ◽  
Christine Jandrasits ◽  
Julius Tembrockhaus ◽  
Thomas Andreas Kohl ◽  
Christian Utpatel ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroductionImproving the surveillance of tuberculosis (TB) is especially important for multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR)-TB. The large amount of publicly available whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data for TB gives us the chance to re-use data and to perform additional analysis at a large scale.AimWe assessed the usefulness of raw WGS data of global MDR/XDR-TB isolates available from public repositories to improve TB surveillance.MethodsWe extracted raw WGS data and the related metadata of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates available from the Sequence Read Archive. We compared this public dataset with WGS data and metadata of 131 MDR- and XDR-TB isolates from Germany in 2012-2013.ResultsWe aggregated a dataset that includes 1,081 MDR and 250 XDR isolates among which we identified 133 molecular clusters. In 16 clusters, the isolates were from at least two different countries. For example, cluster2 included 56 MDR/XDR isolates from Moldova, Georgia, and Germany. By comparing the WGS data from Germany and the public dataset, we found that 11 clusters contained at least one isolate from Germany and at least one isolate from another country. We could, therefore, connect TB cases despite missing epidemiological information.ConclusionWe demonstrated the added value of using WGS raw data from public repositories to contribute to TB surveillance. By comparing the German and the public dataset, we identified potential international transmission events. Thus, using this approach might support the interpretation of national surveillance results in an international context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (1130) ◽  
pp. 686.3-686
Author(s):  
Mark Caulfield

The UK 100,000 Genomes Project has focussed on transforming genomic medicine in the National Health Service using whole genome sequencing in rare disease, cancer and infection. Genomics England partnering with the NHS established 13 Genomic Medicine Centres, the NHS whole genome sequencing centre and the Genomics England Clinical Interpretation Partnership (3337 researchers from 24 countries). We sequenced the 100,000th genome on the 5th December 2019 and completed an initial analysis for participants in July 2019. Alongside these genomes we have assembled a longitudinal life course dataset for research and diagnosis including 2.6 billion clinical data points for the 3000 plus researchers to work on to drive up the value of the genomes for direct healthcare. In parallel we have partnered the NHS to establish one of the world’s most advanced Genomic Medicine Service where we re-evaluated 300,000 genomic tests and upgraded 25% of tests to newer technologies with an annual review. The Department of Health have announced the ambition to undertake 5 million genome analyses over the next 5 years focused on new areas tractable to health gain.


2019 ◽  
Vol 138 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1237-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Milne ◽  
◽  
Katherine I. Morley ◽  
Heidi Howard ◽  
Emilia Niemiec ◽  
...  

Abstract Trust may be important in shaping public attitudes to genetics and intentions to participate in genomics research and big data initiatives. As such, we examined trust in data sharing among the general public. A cross-sectional online survey collected responses from representative publics in the USA, Canada, UK and Australia (n = 8967). Participants were most likely to trust their medical doctor and less likely to trust other entities named. Company researchers were least likely to be trusted. Low, Variable and High Trust classes were defined using latent class analysis. Members of the High Trust class were more likely to be under 50 years, male, with children, hold religious beliefs, have personal experience of genetics and be from the USA. They were most likely to be willing to donate their genomic and health data for clinical and research uses. The Low Trust class were less reassured than other respondents by laws preventing exploitation of donated information. Variation in trust, its relation to areas of concern about the use of genomic data and potential of legislation are considered. These findings have relevance for efforts to expand genomic medicine and data sharing beyond those with personal experience of genetics or research participants.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirstyn Brunker ◽  
Gurdeep Jaswant ◽  
S.M. Thumbi ◽  
Kennedy Lushasi ◽  
Ahmed Lugelo ◽  
...  

Genomic surveillance is an important aspect of contemporary disease management but has yet to be used routinely to monitor endemic disease transmission and control in low- and middle-income countries. Rabies is an almost invariably fatal viral disease that causes a large public health and economic burden in Asia and Africa, despite being entirely vaccine preventable. With policy efforts now directed towards achieving a global goal of zero dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030, establishing effective surveillance tools is critical. Genomic data can provide important and unique insights into rabies spread and persistence that can direct control efforts. However, capacity for genomic research in low- and middle-income countries is held back by limited laboratory infrastructure, cost, supply chains and other logistical challenges. Here we present and validate an end-to-end workflow to facilitate affordable whole genome sequencing for rabies surveillance utilising nanopore technology. We used this workflow in Kenya, Tanzania and the Philippines to generate rabies virus genomes in two to three days, reducing costs to approximately £60 per genome. This is over half the cost of metagenomic sequencing previously conducted for Tanzanian samples, which involved exporting samples to the UK and a three- to six-month lag time. Ongoing optimization of workflows are likely to reduce these costs further. We also present tools to support routine whole genome sequencing and interpretation for genomic surveillance. Moreover, combined with training workshops to empower scientists in-country, we show that local sequencing capacity can be readily established and sustainable, negating the common misperception that cutting-edge genomic research can only be conducted in high resource laboratories. More generally, we argue that the capacity to harness genomic data is a game-changer for endemic disease surveillance and should precipitate a new wave of researchers from low- and middle-income countries.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucía Peña Pérez ◽  
Nicolai Frengen ◽  
Julia Hauenstein ◽  
Charlotte Gran ◽  
Charlotte Gustafsson ◽  
...  

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable and aggressive plasma cell malignancy characterized by a complex karyotype with multiple structural variants (SVs) and copy number variations (CNVs). Linked-read whole-genome sequencing (lrWGS) allows for refined detection and reconstruction of SVs by providing long-range genetic information from standard short-read sequencing. This makes lrWGS an attractive solution for capturing the full genomic complexity of MM. Here we show that high-quality lrWGS data can be generated from low numbers of FACS sorted cells without DNA purification. Using this protocol, we analyzed FACS sorted MM cells from 37 MM patients with lrWGS. We found high concordance between lrWGS and FISH for the detection of recurrent translocations and CNVs. Outside of the regions investigated by FISH, we identified >150 additional SVs and CNVs across the cohort. Analysis of the lrWGS data allowed for resolving the structure of diverse SVs affecting the MYC and t(11;14) loci causing the duplication of genes and gene regulatory elements. In addition, we identified private SVs causing the dysregulation of genes recurrently involved in translocations with the IGH locus and show that these can alter the molecular classification of the MM. Overall, we conclude that lrWGS allows for the detection of aberrations critical for MM prognostics and provides a feasible route for providing comprehensive genetics. Implementing lrWGS could provide more accurate clinical prognostics, facilitate genomic medicine initiatives, and greatly improve the stratification of patients included in clinical trials.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anamaria Crisan ◽  
Geoffrey McKee ◽  
Tamara Munzner ◽  
Jennifer L. Gardy

Background Microbial genome sequencing is now being routinely used in many clinical and public health laboratories. Understanding how to report complex genomic test results to stakeholders who may have varying familiarity with genomics—including clinicians, laboratorians, epidemiologists, and researchers—is critical to the successful and sustainable implementation of this new technology; however, there are no evidence-based guidelines for designing such a report in the pathogen genomics domain. Here, we describe an iterative, human-centered approach to creating a report template for communicating tuberculosis (TB) genomic test results. Methods We used Design Study Methodology—a human centered approach drawn from the information visualization domain—to redesign an existing clinical report. We used expert consults and an online questionnaire to discover various stakeholders’ needs around the types of data and tasks related to TB that they encounter in their daily workflow. We also evaluated their perceptions of and familiarity with genomic data, as well as its utility at various clinical decision points. These data shaped the design of multiple prototype reports that were compared against the existing report through a second online survey, with the resulting qualitative and quantitative data informing the final, redesigned, report. Results We recruited 78 participants, 65 of whom were clinicians, nurses, laboratorians, researchers, and epidemiologists involved in TB diagnosis, treatment, and/or surveillance. Our first survey indicated that participants were largely enthusiastic about genomic data, with the majority agreeing on its utility for certain TB diagnosis and treatment tasks and many reporting some confidence in their ability to interpret this type of data (between 58.8% and 94.1%, depending on the specific data type). When we compared our four prototype reports against the existing design, we found that for the majority (86.7%) of design comparisons, participants preferred the alternative prototype designs over the existing version, and that both clinicians and non-clinicians expressed similar design preferences. Participants showed clearer design preferences when asked to compare individual design elements versus entire reports. Both the quantitative and qualitative data informed the design of a revised report, available online as a LaTeX template. Conclusions We show how a human-centered design approach integrating quantitative and qualitative feedback can be used to design an alternative report for representing complex microbial genomic data. We suggest experimental and design guidelines to inform future design studies in the bioinformatics and microbial genomics domains, and suggest that this type of mixed-methods study is important to facilitate the successful translation of pathogen genomics in the clinic, not only for clinical reports but also more complex bioinformatics data visualization software.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 702-717
Author(s):  
Lamiece Hassan ◽  
Ann Dalton ◽  
Carrie Hammond ◽  
Mary Patricia Tully

Whole genome (DNA) sequencing is becoming part of routine care healthcare in England. Genomic data are most useful when pooled with other patients’ data, meaning that clinicians may need to share data to effectively treat patients. We ran deliberative focus groups to explore views among 44 patients and members of the public about proposals for wider genomic data sharing for clinical care. Participants were briefed about genomic medicine and engaged in group and individual exercises to deliberate on the benefits and risks of using genomic data. Findings showed that participants supported wider sharing of genomic data within health services and naturally linked care and research activities. Nonetheless, they were concerned about managing flows of information to protect patient confidentiality and guard against unauthorised uses, now and over the long-term. Ongoing conversations with the public are needed to determine appropriate uses of genomic data and safeguards to inform service development.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taketoshi Okita ◽  
Noriko Ohashi ◽  
Daijiro Kabata ◽  
Ayumi Shintani ◽  
Kazuto Kato

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph W. Saelens ◽  
Dalia Lau-Bonilla ◽  
Anneliese Moller ◽  
Ana M. Xet-Mull ◽  
Narda Medina ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Whole-genome sequencing has resulted in new insights into the phylogeography of Mycobacterium tuberculosis . However, only limited genomic data are available from M. tuberculosis strains in Guatemala. Here we report 16 complete genomes of clinical strains belonging to the Euro-American lineage 4, the most common lineage found in Guatemala and Central America.


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