HNPCC Info

Everyone should care about the potential for genetic discrimination. Every person has dozens of DNA differences that could increase or decrease his or her chance of getting a disease such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer or Alzheimer's disease. It's important to remember that these DNA differences don't always mean someone will develop a disease, just that the risk to get the disease may be greater. More and more tests are being developed to find DNA differences that affect our health. Called genetic tests, these tests will become a routine part of health care in the future. Health care providers will use information about each person's DNA to develop more individualized ways of detecting, treating and preventing disease. But unless this DNA information is protected, it could be used to discriminate against people.

The carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) test measures the amount of this protein that may appear in the blood of some people who have certain kinds of cancers, especially large intestine (colon and rectal) cancer. It may also be present in people with cancer of the pancreas, breast, ovary, or lung. CEA is normally produced during the development of a fetus. The production of CEA stops before birth, and it usually is not present in the blood of healthy adults. Why It Is Done The carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) test is used to: Find how widespread cancer is for some types of the disease, especially colon cancer. Check the success of treatment for colon cancer. CEA levels may be measured both before and after surgery to evaluate both the success of the surgery and the person's chances of recovery. CEA levels may be measured during treatment with medicines to destroy cancer cells (chemotherapy). This provides information about how well the treatment is working. Check to see if cancer has ret...

Everyone should care about the potential for genetic discrimination. Every person has dozens of DNA differences that could increase or decrease his or her chance of getting a disease such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer or Alzheimer's disease. It's important to remember that these DNA differences don't always mean someone will develop a disease, just that the risk to get the disease may be greater. More and more tests are being developed to find DNA differences that affect our health. Called genetic tests, these tests will become a routine part of health care in the future. Health care providers will use information about each person's DNA to develop more individualized ways of detecting, treating and preventing disease. But unless this DNA information is protected, it could be used to discriminate against people.