Dr. Nguyen Hoai Nghia - Director of the Institute of Medical Genetics - said that currently, genetic testing is increasingly focused on in detecting and treating diseases, especially cancer.
1 in 31 people carry the cancer gene
Dr. Nghia said that according to research data from the Institute of Medical Genetics, 1 in 31 people carry the hereditary cancer gene; people with a family history or personal history of cancer, the rate of carrying the hereditary cancer mutation is 4.2%; people without a family history or personal history of cancer, the rate of carrying the hereditary cancer mutation is 2.6%.
According to Dr. Nghia, one of the popular genetic tests in many countries is the application of liquid biopsy technique. Genetic testing will determine whether we carry a mutated gene or not and what the risk of developing the disease is. For people at high risk, it is recommended to be screened more frequently to detect cancer at an early stage.
In treatment, decoding and finding mutated genes in cancer also helps patients receive effective targeted treatment and reduce side effects. Or it can be immunotherapy by helping the patient's body fight cancer cells. In addition, genetic testing can detect tumor remnants in the body.
Prof. Dr. Nguyen Sao Trung - Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City Medical Association - said that science that studies the genome, mainly studies the application of the genome, that is, studies on DNA and RNA. DNA forms genes. Each person has their own genome, unlike any other person. A complete human genome has about 20,000 genes with 3 billion base pairs. The base pairs are arranged separately for each person, controlling all cell activities - that is, controlling all body activities, controlling the development of the individual characteristics of each part of each person, making each person have their own unique shape and characteristics; for example, height, skin color, hair color... Gene mutations, due to changes in the arrangement of DNA base pairs, can cause disease. Therefore, a clear understanding of DNA will give us specific information about the body's activities and changes when there is a disease.
Students of the Faculty of Medicine - VNU-HCM practice gene decoding in the laboratory. Photo: PHUONG THANH
Do not abuse
Dr. Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health , stated that in Ho Chi Minh City, genomic medicine is applied to identify strains of viruses such as hand, foot and mouth disease; dengue fever; COVID-19... Up to now, thanks to the application of gene sequencing technology in Vietnam, monitoring the penetration of virus variants helps to promptly develop disease prevention plans.
Regarding genetic testing for cancer, Dr. Chau said that it should be considered carefully, and should only be used when necessary, not everyone should be tested. Because when the results show that someone is at risk of cancer, it will easily cause them to fall into anxiety, depression, and a decrease in quality of life. "In fact, genetic testing is only one of the factors for doctors to diagnose the risk, but the probability does not give clear results. If the test results show that you will get cancer in 10 years, instead of going for testing, we should spend that time changing our lifestyle in a healthy direction," said Dr. Chau.
Dr. Chau also emphasized that genetic testing is being abused and over-advertised by some facilities. In addition, not everyone can provide genetic counseling. If the consulting team does not do a good job, it can easily cause unnecessary anxiety for the person being tested. Therefore, experts should approach genetic testing with a specific strategy, helping medicine detect genetic abnormalities in order to provide appropriate prevention and treatment options.
Find better and cheaper treatments
According to Professor Nguyen Sao Trung, the benefits of genomics will help screen, detect, and diagnose diseases early. Because genomic data provides the genetic code of each patient, it can help determine the high risk of developing a certain disease, helping to determine better and cheaper treatment methods.
Currently, genetic testing is being performed based on the need to exploit health history; genetic counseling on demand depending on health history and medical condition; genetic testing on demand; personalized treatment and prevention... In addition, it can also be integrated into medicine and pharmacy to develop suitable drugs for each patient.
Source
Comment (0)