Incidental Finding

Incidental findings are unanticipated or unintended.7

Anticipatable

Practitioner aims to discover A, but learns B, a result known to be associated with the test or procedure at the time it takes place (i.e. Misattributed paternity).7
Example: Discovering misattributed paternity when assessing a living kidney donor and potential recipient who believe they are biologically related.7

Unanticipatable

Practitioner aims to discover A, but learns C, a result not known to be associated with the test or procedure at the time it takes place.7
Example: When a DTC genetic testing company identifies a health risk based on a newly discovered genetic association not know­able at the time a previous sample was submitted.7

Secondary Finding

Practitioner aims to discover A, and also actively seeks D per expert recommendation (i.e. ACMG 59 gene list of secondary findings).7
Example: ACMG recommends that laboratories conducting large-scale genetic sequencing for any clinical purpose should look for variants underlying specific phenotypic traits.7

Discovery Finding

Practitioner aims to discover A through Z by employing a test or procedure designed to detect a broad array of results.7
Example: A “wellness scan,” a whole body computed tomography (CT) scan, is intended to discover any abnormal finding throughout the body.7