LCMC Health and Helix to offer free genetic screening to 100,000 Louisianans

What Uniquely You screens for

Uniquely You is a community health initiative and research program. According to the organizations, it will help participants learn whether they carry inherited genetic risk factors linked to certain hereditary cancers or to an inherited condition that can lead to early heart disease. They say such risks can sometimes go undetected through traditional care or family history alone.

The screening covers three conditions:

• Hereditary breast and ovarian cancers, linked to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes
• Lynch syndrome
• Familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic condition that causes very high cholesterol and can lead to early heart disease

Helix says that across its Helix Research Network programs, approximately one in 75 participants have received a positive result for one of these serious genetic conditions, for which preventive steps or treatment may be available. Participants with a positive result through Uniquely You will be offered genetic counseling at no cost to help them understand their results and potential next steps.

How participation works

Adults 18 and older can take part. The process begins with learning about the program, followed by online enrollment and an informed consent process before joining the study.

Participants then provide a DNA sample, either at a participating location or through an at-home cheek swab kit. The sample is sent to Helix for testing. Confidential results are returned to the patient's electronic health record and show whether any of the included inherited risks were identified.

Participation is voluntary, results are confidential and screening is provided at no cost. Samples can be given at participating hospitals, clinics and community locations, according to the announcement. Helix also points to its Sequence Once, Query Often technology, which allows information from a single DNA sample to potentially support additional genetic testing in the future, which may eliminate the need to collect another sample.

Backing from partners and officials

LCMC Health CEO Greg Feirn framed the project as a shift away from reactive care. "For too long, healthcare has largely been built around treating disease once it appears. We have an opportunity to help change that," he said.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry described the initiative as bringing "cutting-edge precision medicine directly to Louisiana families." New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said the program can give more people information to take charge of their health.

James Lu, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Helix, welcomed LCMC Health into the Helix Research Network and said the partners are building a genomic infrastructure in Louisiana designed to help improve patient outcomes.

What it means for Louisiana

For individuals, the program offers a no-cost way to learn about certain inherited risks and share the findings with their physicians. For LCMC Health, which is a not-for-profit hospital system established in 2009, the stated aim is to better understand the health needs of the communities it serves. Over time, the organizations say, that knowledge may help inform new approaches to prevention, research and care.

LCMC Health describes Uniquely You as part of a broader vision to bring precision medicine into everyday patient care by connecting genomic insights with clinical care, research and prevention. Eligible adults across Louisiana and the Gulf South are expected to have access from early 2027. People interested in updates on enrollment can visit LCMChealth.org/UniquelyYou.