14: Who Benefits from Large-Scale Genomic Programmes?

Horn R et al., European Journal of Human Genetics - Workshop report assessing the practical benefits and limits of national genomic programmes across societal, economic, clinical, scientific and population levels, and proposing criteria to ensure public benefit, equity and robust evaluation. Key terms: genomic programmes, public trust, economic evaluation, equity, newborn screening. Study Highlights:An international workshop produced a taxonomy of benefits of large-scale genomic programmes at societal, economic, clinical, scientific and population levels. Participants highlighted gaps in evidence—especially economic evaluations—and the limited predictive value of genomics for many common diseases. Trust, governance, equity and transparent communication emerged as essential conditions for public benefit. The report calls for targeted, evidence-driven rollouts and multidisciplinary evaluation frameworks before population-wide implementation. Conclusion:Large-scale genomic programmes offer potential benefits across multiple levels but current evidence is incomplete, especially on economic value and population impact. To justify public investment and maintain trust, programmes must avoid overpromising, prioritise rigorous upstream and downstream evaluation, address equity and consent, and proceed with targeted, evidence-based implementation supported by transparent governance. QC:This episode was checked against the original article PDF and publication metadata for the episode release published on 2025-04-25. QC Scope:- article metadata and core scientific claims from the narration- excludes analogies, intro/outro, and music QC Summary:- factual score: 10/10- metadata score: 10/10- supported core claims: 7- claims flagged for review: 0- metadata checks passed: 4- metadata issues found: 0 Metadata Audited:- article_doi- article_title- article_journal- license Factual Items Audited:- Public trust is essential for large-scale genomic programmes; distrust reveals governance gaps, especially regarding public-private data partnerships.- Economic value of large-scale sequencing programmes is not yet proven; there is a severe lack of population-level economic evidence, with Denmark cited as a failure to establish an- Polygenic risk scores have limited predictive power for most common diseases; environment and epigenetic factors explain the majority of risk; risk of overdiagnosis or false reassu- Multidisciplinary advisory boards (e.g., molecular tumor boards) and ESMO-style frameworks help interpret genomic data and prevent over-interpretation or inappropriate intervention- Population-level implementation faces equity challenges; data bias toward wealthy, European-descent populations risks widening health disparities; targeted, equity-focused rollout- The Genomics England Generation Study (100,000 newborns; screening for >200 conditions) is a key example, illustrating potential societal benefits but raising consent and feasibili QC result: Pass.