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Clinical genetics and genomics will exert their greatest population impact by leveraging the rich knowledge of human behavior that is central to the discipline of behavioral medicine. We contend that more concerted efforts are needed to integrate these fields synergistically, and accordingly, we consider barriers and potential actions to hasten such integration., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

The skill sets of genetic counselors are strongly utilized in industry, as evidenced by 20% of genetic counselors reporting employment within industry in 2016. In addition, industry genetic counselors are expanding their roles, taking on new responsibilities, and creating new opportunities. These advances have impacted the profession as a whole including, but not limited to, genetic counseling training curricula, a shift back to genetic counseling directly to patients, and a growing influence of genetic counselors on industry test offerings. Industry genetic counselors and training programs are working together to address the challenges and opportunities presented by workforce changes and novel interpretations of how genetic counselors' core competencies can be utilized. Counseling of patients by industry genetic counselors has become more commonplace and addresses a need for alternate service delivery models. Industry genetic counselors often provide significant contributions to test development, education, marketing, and interpretation. Beyond these broad examples, individual industry genetic counselors have created unique niches for themselves, using their genetic counseling training combined with unique opportunities offered through industry, as illustrated by genetic counselors' various roles and responsibilities highlighted here., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

In the United Kingdom, genetic counsellors work together with clinical geneticists and clinical scientist colleagues within specialist genetics services, but they also often work in multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) outside of such services. There, they contribute genetic knowledge together with expert understanding of how to communicate genetic information effectively. They can offer education and support to the MDT, while providing management advice for both affected patients and the extended at-risk family members. As genomic technologies are implemented across many disciplines within healthcare, genetic counsellors are playing a key role in enabling non-genetic health professionals learn, understand and integrate genomic data into their practice. They are also involved in curriculum development, workforce planning, research, regulation and policy creation - all with the aim of ensuring a robust evidence base from which to practise, together with clear guidelines on what constitutes competence and good practice. The Association of Genetic Nurses and Counsellors (AGNC) in The United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland is committed to supporting genetic counsellors, across all sectors of healthcare and research, as they help deliver genomic medicine for the patient, family and world-class health services.European Journal of Human Genetics advance online publication, 22 March 2017; doi:10.1038/ejhg.2017.28.

This document of the European Society of Human Genetics contains recommendations regarding responsible implementation of expanded carrier screening. Carrier screening is defined here as the detection of carrier status of recessive diseases in couples or persons who do not have an a priori increased risk of being a carrier based on their or their partners' personal or family history. Expanded carrier screening offers carrier screening for multiple autosomal and X-linked recessive disorders, facilitated by new genetic testing technologies, and allows testing of individuals regardless of ancestry or geographic origin. Carrier screening aims to identify couples who have an increased risk of having an affected child in order to facilitate informed reproductive decision making. In previous decades, carrier screening was typically performed for one or few relatively common recessive disorders associated with significant morbidity, reduced life-expectancy and often because of a considerable higher carrier frequency in a specific population for certain diseases. New genetic testing technologies enable the expansion of screening to multiple conditions, genes or sequence variants. Expanded carrier screening panels that have been introduced to date have been advertised and offered to health care professionals and the public on a commercial basis. This document discusses the challenges that expanded carrier screening might pose in the context of the lessons learnt from decades of population-based carrier screening and in the context of existing screening criteria. It aims to contribute to the public and professional discussion and to arrive at better clinical and laboratory practice guidelines.

Aim: In order to evaluate the characteristics and the evolution of cancer genetics activity in France, a survey was conducted at the national level during a period of 4 years from 1994 to 1997 through the French Cooperative Network, a multidisciplinary group formed to investigate inherited tumors., Method: A questionnaire was sent to all the 29 French non-specialized cancer genetic clinics to evaluate activity during a period of 4 consecutive weeks each year from 1994 to 1997. Items concerning the cancer genetic clinics, the consultees and the types of consultation were explored., Results: A total number of 801 consultees were seen during the period of analysis. Some prominent characteristics of patients attending cancer genetic clinics were found. The majority of these are women (88%), and the mean age of consultees is 48 years. Fifty five percent of consultees are affected with cancer, and breast (personal and/or family history) is the most frequent site involved (63%). A genetic predisposition is certain or likely in about 53% of cases and unlikely in only 13% of consultations. The majority of consultations are devoted to new families (71%). The mean duration of consultations is 50 minutes, but 40% have a duration of at least 1 hour. Variations of several parameters during the 4 years period were observed and analyzed. Finally, since duration of consultations (more or equal to 1 hour) and personal or family history of breast/ovarian cancer appeared as pivotal elements in our study and consequently may affect the organization of clinics and the structuring as well as the evolution of cancer genetic activity in France, we analyzed more precisely the factors significantly associated with these 2 elements., Conclusion: Study compliance was fair (60% of centers) and these results give a good measure of cancer genetic activity in France. The variation of parameters from one year to another may reflect modifications in medical practice (medical orientation rather than research focus and content of cancer genetic clinics) and/or scientific breakthroughs in cancer genetics such as identification of genes predisposing to cancer.