Is it possible for a participant to test negative even if they have a known genetic variant in their family?

Yes. There are several possible explanations for a negative Helix test result, even if there is a known genetic variant in the family.
1. There are many genes that contribute to the risk of disease. Helix currently tests for 11 genes. It is possible that a family member has a variant in a gene that Helix did not evaluate.
2. Genetic variants are not inherited by every single member of the family. It is possible that a family does indeed have a genetic variant, but an individual family member did not inherit this variant.
3. Variants must meet certain criteria to be returned as a positive test result from Helix. If a family member has a variant in one of the genes tested by Helix, please contact us to request reinterpretation.