ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on cancergenetics as field in which the extension of options for genetic screening is clearly visible and which allows us to study the emergence and implications of the new genetics from a co-evolutionary perspective. It shows how in the Netherlands a screening practice has emerged for Familiar Adenomatous Polyposis, a particular hereditary predisposition for colon cancer. An interesting example in the Netherlands is the institution of so-called 'multidisciplinary clinics for hereditary tumours' in which specialists from different fields are working together, including molecular geneticists, clinical geneticists, oncologists and specialists involved in psycho-social care. The chapter also shows how in the 1980's screening of individuals at risk became a regular practice on a national scale. It describes how this screening practice, with the development and introduction of DNA-diagnostic tests, begin to interfere with the established practice of clinical genetics. The chapter discusses the implications of our case-study in the wider context of the emerging new genetics in society.
