Veranstaltungsort:
Universitätsclub Bonn
Konviktstraße 9
53113 Bonn

Developments in genetic science are leading to an ever expanding potential for predictive screening. Currently available methods enable the predictive diagnosis of treatable diseases such as inherited breast and colorectal cancer, even in the absence of a positive family history, and newer methods will become available in the near future. Genetic tests of questionable value are becoming increasingly available through internet-based companies, which sell their products directly to the consumer. In a few years, is likely that even complete sequencing of the individual genome will be offered directly to the consumer at an affordable cost. In view of such developments, it is necessary that both politicians and the public are adequately informed about the scope, the limitations, and the dangers of predictive genetic screening.

The Coordinating Committee of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina has appointed a Working Group to formulate an opinion on the genetic screening of healthy individuals. The Working Group includes experts from human genetics, clinical medicine, experimental medicine, biomathematics, medical law, health economy, and bioethics. Within this context, internationally renowned experts from various fields with a direct interest in predictive genetic screening have been invited to express their views in the symposium.