A Scoping Review of Global Guidelines for the Disclosure of Secondary Genomic Findings to Inform the Establishment of Guidelines in China.

Abstract

The detection and disclosure of secondary findings (SFs) is a preventive strategy for medically-actionable hereditary health conditions. Some countries have guidelines on management and disclosure of SFs, while others avoid detection and disclosure of SFs. This study is a review of clinical guidelines from six countries and the European Union to identify similarities and differences among SF guidelines. Evidence from this review supports harmonization of guidelines across countries to promote broad international collaborations on genomics and to benefit precision medicine. This study can serve as a reference for development of SF management guidelines in China by contributing evidence from other countries to the ethical and methodological challenges under debate.