Doctors Call for Curb on DIY Health Testing Kits

DOCTORS today called for government curbs on home health testing kits bought over the internet that promise to screen for cancer and other diseases.

A report by the British Medical Association found that some firms offering whole body scans, mammograms and prostate cancer tests are unregulated and operating outside national guidelines. But people should be especially wary of kits bought by mail order or over the internet, the experts said.

Many firms cash in on the “worried well” who undergo scans, blood tests and allergy screening. The report says some will get false results, and the tests can pose risks.