Ethical Considerations for the Return of Incidental Findings in Ophthalmic Genomic Research
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Date
2016
Authors
Souzeau, Emmanuelle
Burdon, Kathryn Penelope
Mackey, David A
Hewitt, Alex W
Savarirayan, Ravi
Otlowski, M
Craig, Jamie E
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)
Rights
Copyright 2016 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)
Rights Holder
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)
Abstract
Whole genome and whole exome sequencing technologies are being increasingly used in research. However, they have the potential to identify incidental findings (IF), findings not related to the indication of the test, raising questions regarding researchers' responsibilities toward the return of this information to participants. In this study we discuss the ethical considerations related to the return of IF to research participants, emphasizing that the type of the study matters and describing the current practice standards. There are currently no legal obligations for researchers to return IF to participants, but some viewpoints consider that researchers might have an ethical one to return IF of clinical validity and clinical utility and that are actionable. The reality is that most IF are complex to interpret, especially since they were not the indication of the test. The clinical utility often depends on the participants' preferences, which can be challenging to conciliate and relies on participants' understanding. In summary, in the context of a lack of clear guidance, researchers need to have a clear plan for the disclosure or nondisclosure of IF from genomic research, balancing their research goals and resources with the participants' rights and their duty not to harm.
Description
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Available from PubMed Central (PMC).http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4757467/
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Citation
Souzeau E, Burdon KP, Mackey DA, Hewitt AW, Savarirayan R, Otlowski M, Craig JE. Ethical Considerations for the Return of Incidental Findings in Ophthalmic Genomic Research. Translational Vision Science & Technology. 2016 Feb 9;5(1):3. eCollection 2016 Feb.