Vol.98No.9contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 98 No. 9 September 2005
Clinical Application of Genetic Testing
Katsunari Yane
(Nara Medical University School of Medicine)
More than a decade ago, genetic analyses could be performed by a limited number of specialist. Therefore, the technology was far from clinical application at that time. With the remarkable progress in gene analysis in recent years, however, a variety of genetic tests have already been applied clinically and have become necessary for the diagnosis of certain malignant tumors, infections and so on. However, genetic tests are not fully used in clinical practices because of persistent uncertainties as whether such tests will be covered by national health insurance and which items should be tested. Under these conditions, this report addresses malignant lymphoma, hereditary medullary thyroid carcinoma, tuberculosis, and hereditary deafness, for which genetic testing has already been applied clinically, in order to explain genetic testing that a general medical institution can contract out to a clinical testing company.
Key words : genetic testing, genetic analysis, clinical application