This is exciting news indeed. During my internal medicine training, I was taught to ask questions about family history, medical history, and environmental factors (e.g. smoking, childbirth, etc) to assess my patients' risk for developing various cancers. For the general population the genetic component of their cancer risk equation is by far the most important, and family history is a very imperfect way to assess this risk. A doctor asking a question about family history is a test, just like any lab test. And often doctors either phrase the questions about family history incorrectly (PCPs have about 2 minutes to ask this question and get an answer in the typical office setting) and/or often people aren't aware of their family history. In addition, spontaneous mutations are not uncommon, and family history does not provide any insight there. Convenient genetic testing like this would allow me to get immensely more accurate information about the risk profile of the patient sitting in front of me. It is truly amazing to see this age of precision medicine, where I can more accurately quantify my patients cancer risk, emerge in my lifetime.
For certain genetic diseases (e.g. Huntington's) assessing risk or making a genetic diagnosis is controversial because there's little that can be done to prevent or treat the disease. Fortunately, cancer is very different. Being able to more accurately quantify risk helps physicians adjust screening protocols aimed at early detection and treatment.
I also appreciate the way Color is attacking this problem: Increasing patient access by dropping the price, providing genetic counseling resources, and participating in groundbreaking studies led by top institutions.
Great work, and looking forward to seeing what's next!
