Genetic counseling does not help parents in disclosing their breast cancer information to children

When a mother undergoes genetic testing to determine whether she carries a gene for hereditary breast cancer, the parents must then decide whether and how to share this risk information with their children. Conventional genetic counseling does not help parents with these difficult decisions, according to an article in Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.(http://www.liebertpub.com) The article is available free on the Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers website (http://www.liebertpub.com/gtmb).

"The article serves to remind genetic counselors of the need to fully inform patients of the meaning and significance to their test results," says Kenneth I. Berns, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, and Director of the University of Florida's Genetics Institute, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL.