Canada Research Chair in Neuroethics Professor of Neurology National Core for Neuroethics University of British Columbia Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues February 2011 Frontiers in Incidental Findings Judy Illes, Ph.D.
Dec 27, 2015
Canada Research Chair in Neuroethics
Professor of Neurology
National Core for Neuroethics
University of British Columbia
Presidential Commission for the
Study of Bioethical Issues
February 2011
Frontiers in Incidental FindingsJudy Illes, Ph.D.
Agenda• Background• Current landscape• Ongoing discovery• Uncharted territory
Agenda• Background• Current landscape• Ongoing discovery• Uncharted territory
Incidental Findings
Findings unrelated to the purpose of a research study or clinical examination
Case Study in NeuroimagingMK is a medical student conducting functional MRI research for his PhD on memory. He has been a mentor to the incoming medical student class. Two weeks into the program SH, a new medical student, enthusiastically enrolls in MK’s study. On the anatomy pre-scan, MK notices an anomaly in SH’s prefrontal cortex. There is no institutional protocol in place.
What should he do?
Real people, real problems
• Potentially significant disorders of the CNS• Psychological and financial cost• Risk to personal health care security• Relevance to third parties• Trust and reciprocity
• Cost to the research enterprise• Increasing applications of
neuroimaging • Expanding requirements for
biobanks and data sharing
Fundamental Issues
Agenda• Background• Current landscape• Ongoing discovery• Uncharted territory
Cavernous hemangioma AVM
Mucous plug
Meningioma
Structural Anomalies
Frequency
• Overall occurrence of anomalies in adults and children: 18%-20% (one in every five people scanned)vascular and tumours
• Clinically significant findings requiring follow-up: 2%-8%
Ageyoung old
Fre
qu
ency
low
high Routine
Urgent
Associations with Age
Illes et al., Neurology, 2008
Personnel conducting scans
Management StrategiesNeuroradiological review
Illes et al., JMRI, 2004Racine et al., BMC Ethics, 2010
Significance of FindingWould Want to be
InformedWould Seek Evaluation
Benign 91% 77%
Malignant,but curable
100% 97%
Malignantand not curable
96% 99%
Life-threatening medical emergency
100% 98%
Subjects’ Expectations
Kirschen et al., JMRI, 2006
Illes, Nature Clinical Neurology, 2006; Illes et al., Neurology, 2008
The Challenge
Illes et al., based on Science 2006, Neurology 2008
Research Study
Principal investigator or designate
Physician qualified to read scans
Incidental finding is detectedAll scansreviewed
C
IRB protocol & informed consent articulate plan for managing incidental findings
Incidental findings are managed
Subjectoption to decline to be informed
Incidental findings are not managed
B
Principal investigator or designate
Research subject or surrogate is encouraged to initiate clinical follow-up
Incidental finding is evaluated
Incidental finding is communicated
No action taken
D
Research protocol anticipates incidental findings A
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Agenda• Background• Current landscape• Ongoing discovery• Uncharted territory
Economic Analysis
Cost implications of managing incidentally found intracranial aneurysms
Mathematical modeling of four strategies for different populations of human subjects
Sadatsafavi et al., Value in Health, 2010
Four Different Strategies
1. No screening, no further workup
2. MRI read by researcher not trained in clinical neuroimagingIf suspicious: read by specialistIf suspicious: MR Angiography (MRA)
3. MRI read by specialistIf suspicious: MRA
4. Full clinical-grade work-up in all participants
Best Economic Strategy per SubgroupAge Gender
Family History
No screeningScreening by
researcherScreening by
specialist
Full, clinical grade
screening
18-40 M - ●
40-60 M - ●
>60 M - ●
18-40 F - ●
40-60 F - ●
>60 F - ●
18-40 M + ●
40-60 M + ●
>60 M + ●
18-40 F + ●
40-60 F + ●
>60 F + ●
Implications for ManagementA shift from researcher-focused to participant-focused decision-making for incidental findings
• Initial screening by a non-trained researcher is not
cost-effective for any subgroup• A customized strategy is essential• Optimal strategy is affected by variables at time of
screening: age group, gender, family history • Exclusion of certain participant groups may be justified
when weighing risk and cost of screening
Imaging Genetics
An emerging approach to the study of genetic variations and functional brain responses
• Brain activation patterns and the course of cognitive decline in people with AD susceptibility genes
• COMT gene polymorphism and prefrontal dopamine regulation with genetic risk of schizophrenia
• 5-HTT serotonin transporter gene and amygdala activation in response to fearful stimuli
Discriminative Power
Discriminative Power
CumulativePower
CumulativePower
Imaging Genetics
Science and Society
Disease Differentiation
Incidental Findings
Translation Stigma Response Sensitivity Privacy/
Autonomy Resources
Commercialization
Ethical Considerations
Neuroimaging
Clinical FeaturesGenes
Neurochemical(MRS, SPECT,
PET)
Neurochemical(MRS, SPECT,
PET)
Structural(CT, MRI, DTI)
Structural(CT, MRI, DTI)
Functional(MRI, SPECT,
PET)
Functional(MRI, SPECT,
PET)
Gene expression
Protein Cells Systems Behaviour
Roffman et al., 2005
Tairyan et al., Neuroscience, 2009
Functional Frontier:Resting State fMRI• The brain is highly active at rest• Connectivity analyses suggest distributed, large-scale
functional networks • Detection of changes in functional connectivity within
individuals from a single scan• Disruptions of the networks have been observed in
Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and other disorders of the CNS
Will task-dependent or task-independent resting state fMRI be the first functional frontier for incidental findings?
• Uncertainty in current understanding of the resting state
• Heritability of networks
• Anonymization in offline processing
• Implications of findings for perception of self and social categories
Frontier Challenges
Agenda• Background• Current landscape• Ongoing discovery• Uncharted territory
Uncharted Territory• Economic analyses beyond aneurysms• Incidental findings in children• Evolving processes for recruitment
and consent • Responsibilities and policies in the
unregulated non-clinical for-profit sector
• Management of incidental findings in cultures in which ownership of health data and consent are shared by communities
• Evidence-based policies in a changing health care climate