This genetic test could make breast cancer screenings a lot cheaper

A startup company wants to change the way we approach breast cancer screenings.

Color Genomics has developed a way of testing whether women are genetically at risk for breast cancer, and it's a lot less expensive than traditional breast cancer screenings. The saliva test is only $249, which is about a tenth of the cost of other genetic breast cancer screenings, The New York Times reports. The saliva test looks at BRCA1 and BRCA2, the primary genes where mutations can occur and increase the risk of breast cancer, as well as 17 other cancer-risk genes.

Traditionally, women who have family histories of breast cancer undergo genetic testing to assess their risks of the disease. But the accessibility and ease of Color Genomics' test could allow many women to be tested who may not have been able to in the past.

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Some experts have expressed concern that the test could create confusion among women whose test results weren't clear, such as a test signaling a mutation, but not whether it was dangerous or benign. And Color Genomics wants the test to be sold through its website, a policy another startup took with testing in 2013, only to be shut down by the FDA, the Times notes.