Surgeons have critical role in genetic testing decisions, medical, legal experts say.

What role should surgeons play in the rapidly evolving field of genetic testing for cancer? Medical and legal experts told participants in the American College of Surgeons' spring meeting in Baltimore that surgeons should have an active, inquisitive role that focuses on the patient's family history. In addition to identifying a possible hereditary component to cancer in a patient and his or her family, the surgeon must decide whether there is an appropriate referral to be made to specialists for genetic testing, as well as how to manage the disease, according to Gloria Petersen, Ph.D., a genetics epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.