testing765 wrote:Hi. I recently had a surveillance follow up colonoscopy, after having colon cancer in 2014. The gastroenterologist recommended the Natera Empower™ Heriditary Cancer Test.
https://www.natera.com/oncology/empower ... ncer-test/ As I understand, this test does not involve the original tumor cells, it does require a current blood sample. Has anyone had this genetic test? Did you obtain any useful information from this test? Did you insurance cover the cost of this test? Thank you for sharing your experience.
1.
Has anyone had this genetic test? I have not had this genetic test, but I have had experience browsing this company's website a few years ago, and at the time I was disappointed because the website had quite a lot of marketing/sales documents, but I could not find any useful technical information about how their tests were actually validated. Now, after several years, I notice that their website has improved somewhat, with a number of links to various other documents, brochures, manuals, white papers, etc.
In the company's current website, there are a few links especially relevant to their Empower™ product:
2.
Did you obtain any useful information from this test? The
Empower™ Gene Table by Panel document above may be of interest to you because it identifies the 53 oncogenes that are used in the mutation testing, and what illnesses they could be linked to.
In my layman's opinion, the two genes that might be of interest to you are the BRCA genes and the APC gene. The BRCA gene is usually linked to breast cancer, however it also linked to prostate cancer, but at a lower level of risk. The APC (Adenomatous Polyposis Coli) gene might be of interest to you because of your past surveillance colonoscopies that have found multiple polyps, suggesting that you might have a mild risk for polyposis.
I think it would also be important for you to ask the gastroenterologist exactly why he is suggesting that the Empower™ test might be relevant for you. What are his reasons, specifically? And what reason would he give that would be acceptable to the Insurance company?
It should also be mentioned that one of the risks of doing a test like this is that it may find a number of minor mutations that neither you nor the doctor can make much sense out of, and that may just serve to heighten your anxiety knowing that you have these unknown risk factors.
3.
Did your insurance cover the cost of this test?Apparently, for some patients the cost of the test is covered by Insurance, but in other cases the patient is confronted with a large unexpected bill at the end, much higher that what the company had estimated at the beginning.
Before you sign up for a potentially expensive test like this, I think it would be a good idea for you to read the complaints about the company that have been submitted to the Better Business Bureau -- especially the complaints that rate the company with a "1"or "2" rating. Their billing practices may give you more anxiety than what you are willing to put up with.
https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-carlos/profile/laboratory-research/natera-1116-537368