19 October 2017 - Hundreds of spit samples have been traveling through the mail across the U.S.-Canadian border. Why? The samples are part of a study focused on genetic testing for breast cancer. Saliva is needed for that—and so are Canadians.

Regulations in the U.S. make it difficult to conduct a study in which participants receive genetic test results without involving their doctors. Canada is less strict about how genetic test results are released. By turning to our neighbour to the north, researchers can find out whether testing more women for genetic mutations tied to cancer will help catch the disease earlier. It doesn't hurt that in Canada the test is free for anyone with an immediate family member who carries the mutation and has been diagnosed with the disease.

Testing for BRCA, a gene that mutates in such a way that increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancers, has been available for many years. But the diagnostic has been limited to women with a family history of these diseases in Canada—or to those with the money and a willing doctor to help them order it in the United States. A U.S. company, Veritas Genetics, believes that expanding genetic testing for two BRCA mutations would enable women who would not otherwise be screened to catch their cancer early.

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