1580 Background: In 6/2013 the Supreme Court ruled that isolated DNA sequences found in nature could not be patented, resulting in rapid uptake of multigene panels. We sought to explore trends in genetic testing since this ruling. Methods: Results of all patients undergoing genetic testing and counseling at a single institution between 7/1/13 and 12/31/16 were reviewed. Associations between categorical variables were evaluated by chi-square tests or Fisher's exact tests as appropriate for category size. Results: 1663 patients underwent genetic testing over the study period. The median age was 49 years (range 18-86). Use of multigene panels versus targeted gene testing increased significantly in the years following the Supreme Court ruling (Table 1, P<0.001). While the percentage of patients found to have pathogenic mutations remained stable over the study period (9%), detection of variants of uncertain significance (VUS) increased significantly (Table 1, P<0.001). In 2013 BRCA1/2 mutations accounted for 91% of identified mutations; however this number decreased over time (2014-83%, 2015-70%, 2016-58%, P=0.01). Use of multigene panels detected 71% of mutations in non- BRCA1/2 genes such as CHEK(19), APC(44), MSH6(1), P53(1), and PTEN(1). Patients with a personal history of breast and/or ovarian cancer were more likely to have targeted testing than patients with other cancer types (590, 66% vs. 9, 33%, P=0.001). Conclusions: The uptake of multigene panels has increased since the 2013 Supreme Court ruling. While this technology allowed for the identification of many cancer-related genes that would be missed on targeted BRCA1/2 testing, it also resulted in a significantly increased detection of VUS, a finding with unknown clinical implications. [Table: see text]
Imprisonment during COVID-19 in Brazil: A Brief Review on the Prison Situation during the Pandemic
