Testing Ecology: Breast and Gynecological Cancer Predisposition Tests and the National Healthcare System in Spain

This research asks what is being put to the test by breast and gynecological cancer predisposition testing in Spain beyond genes or cancer. By combining document analysis and fieldwork with national healthcare professionals and drawing on the anthropology and sociology of testing, I examine how the molecular relations of these tests extend to the political economy of the national healthcare system. I show how the capacity of these tests to produce a low-risk collective has paradoxical consequences for the political economy of the national healthcare system, unsettling professionals' concerns and spotlighting what is prioritized in personalized medicine strategies.