Genetic Counseling Clinic at AIIMS (New Delhi)

The field of genetic counseling in India has enormously transformed over the past few years. Genetic counseling is a communication process which deals with the human problems associated with the occurrence or risk of occurrence of a genetic disorder in a family. Genetic counseling is not merely having a conversation based on genomic data. It addresses the "information needs" of a particular patient, and customizes a session according to each patient's individual circumstances, thereby aiding in decision-making. In 2012, AIIMS (New Delhi) became the first tertiary care center in North India to provide genetic counseling for cancer. Among 200 cases that were referred for genetic counseling to the AIIMS clinic at the Department of Surgical Disciplines, about 30% of patients chose to undergo testing. Five cases of BRCA1/2 mutation were found conforming to the hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome. There was one case of TP53 mutation conforming to Li-Fraumeni syndrome. One case each of Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) and Cowden's syndrome was also detected. All these cases were offered risk-reducing measures and put under life-long surveillance as per protocol. Their family members were also offered genetic counseling and subsequent testing if they agreed. Cancer genetic counseling service was a new exercise, and hence, several challenges were faced. The clinical utility of genetic testing, coupled with counseling, should be established by trials. Documenting the achievements of counseling by surrogate parameters like "improved recruitment rate of patients for genetic tests" and "improved patient satisfaction levels" will go a long way in garnering the much needed institutional support.