Func Med Nation - A podcast for Functional and Integrative Medicine practitioners. · Dr. Steven Noseworthy

028 | GUEST SERIES: Accurate and Reliable Gene testing for cancer and CVD risk. An interview with Dahlia Attia-King (Founder and CEO of Panacea)

·1 hr 33 min·5 clips

Dahlia Attia-King says providers should ask what technology, CAP/CLIA status, and genetic counseling a lab actually offers.

1. Func Med Nation episode 028 covers predictive genetic testing for cancer and cardiovascular risk with Dahlia Attia-King and Dr. Steve Noseworthy. 2. Dahlia Attia-King is the founder and CEO of Panacea, and Steve Noseworthy hosts the show and frames the discussion for clinicians and consumers. 3. The episode asks what genetic testing can actually tell people today, and what it should be used for in prevention and care. 4. Steve opens by saying many doctors think genetic testing is “settled science,” and Dahlia says the field has “barely scratched the surface.” 5. Dahlia says science keeps changing, but a handful of genes are still understood well enough to guide care for cancer, cardiovascular conditions, and neurological disorders. 6. She uses BRCA1 and BRCA2 as examples, saying some mutations can make someone “80% more likely” to develop breast cancer and, in some cases, ovarian cancer. 7. Steve raises the possibility that one variant can increase risk while another may protect, and Dahlia agrees that some genes and mutations can confer protection. 8. She points to APOE4 as an Alzheimer’s-related example where one version raises risk and other versions may lower it. 9. Dahlia says Panacea’s core focus is preventive genetic testing for inherited disease susceptibility, not testing environment-driven effects. 10. She describes the goal as identifying what someone inherited from mom and dad at conception so they can reduce the likelihood of later disease. 11. Dahlia says understanding your risks gives you a chance to work with a healthcare provider on a “specific targeted healthcare plan.” 12. She describes Panacea as a workflow that brings together testing, guidance, and access, instead of forcing patients to “beg” a doctor for a test. 13. Dahlia says clinical genetic testing is not always easy to understand because it matters what results mean and what they do not mean. 14. She says the genetic counselor is the expert who sits with patients for an hour after results and explains both the findings and the limits. 15. The counselor also points patients toward more frequent screenings, blood tests, medications, and lifestyle changes when appropriate. 16. Dahlia says the patient still needs to take the summary to a physician because the clinician is key to managing follow-up care. 17. Steve then shifts to test quality and cites a 2018 Nature comparison involving 23andMe and a reference lab with a 40% false positive rate. 18. Dahlia responds by distinguishing direct-to-consumer microarray from clinical next-generation sequencing and says CAP and CLIA certification matter for reliability. 19. The tone is consultative and practical, with Steve pressing on definitions and Dahlia answering in plain language for practitioners and health consumers. 20. Clinicians who want to compare genetic testing vendors and patients who want prevention-focused risk information are the best fit for this episode.

As heard by us

A measured case for genetic testing that is accessible, accurate, and reliable enough to trust.

The episode gives a clear, practitioner-facing look at predictive genetic testing, with Dahlia Atiyah-King pressing on a simple point: access, accuracy, and lab standards have to be settled before anyone leans on a result.

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Want a clear read on when genetic testing is worth trusting?

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