Genetics

The FDA has approved the PARP inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) for the treatment of women with BRCA-positive advanced ovarian cancer. The approval was based on results from a single-arm phase II study of patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated advanced cancers

Anees B. Chagpar, MD, MSc, MA, MPH, associate professor of surgery (oncology), director, The Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven, program director, Interdisciplinary Breast Fellowship, assistant director, Diversity and Health Equity at Yale Cancer Center, discusses a study that looked at patient perceptions of the impact of genetic testing for breast cancer risk on health insurance.

For individuals living in rural areas, getting a genetic test can impose its own set of barriers, like multiple long trips for counseling, testing, and follow-up. However, findings of a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute have shown that telephone counseling was just as effective as in-person counseling in many respects.

Families are communities within themselves-full of intrigue, adventures, worries, joys, and assorted characters.

The poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor veliparib exhibits antitumor activity and is safe and tolerable on a continuous dosing schedule when used for the treatment of patients with BRCA-positive and BRCA–wild type tumors.

Academic medical centers and commercial genetics laboratories across the country have joined forces to establish the Prospective Registry Of Multi-Plex Testing (PROMPT), an online registry for individuals and families who have undergone testing for inherited cancer-causing genetic mutations.

Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE), the nation's only nonprofit organization dedicated to families with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC), is celebrating National Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Week and National Previvor Day to create awareness and recognize those affected by a genetic predisposition to these cancers.

More than one-third of patients with breast or ovarian cancer or a family history of those diseases who also saw a genetic counselor did not pursue genetic testing for BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 mutations

With more and more data supporting the association between actress Angelina Jolie's double mastectomy and an increase in the amount of patients seeking genetic testing, the attention is on genetic counselors to improve their intake model to more efficiently handle the increased demand.

The demand for genetic services has never been greater. Vast advances in genetic technology, Angelina Jolie's disclosure that she is a BRCA mutation carrier, and the Supreme Court ruling on gene patents have hurled genetic services into the mainstream. Since the Supreme Court ruling last year, the cost of germline (hereditary) genetic testing has plummeted and now includes panels of genes.

Several new genetic risk markers in pancreatic cancer have been found, scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced.

Genetics may be to blame for an increase in the number of young men diagnosed with prostate cancer, researchers say.

FORCE has collaborated with researchers at the University of South Florida and the Michigan Department of Community Health to form the ABOUT Patient-Powered Research Network

Everything we know and will learn in the future about hereditary cancer risks, screening, and treatment comes from years of scientific research and the direct participation of thousands of volunteers.

Receiving counseling from a genetic healthcare provider before genetic testing educates patients and may help reduce unnecessary procedures

The majority of women with breast cancer who undergo the recommended genetic testing for BRCA1/2 mutations and test positive prior to undergoing surgery will change their surgical plan to include a more extensive procedure, a new study reports.

A recent survey conducted by the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) showed a significant increase in patient calls and requests for testing and referrals from healthcare providers in the year following actress Angelina Jolie's announcement of her BRCA mutation status and subsequent double mastectomy.

New data has revealed that breastfeeding, tubal ligation, and oral contraceptives may lower the risk of ovarian cancer for some women with BRCA gene mutations,

Women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian, tubal, and peritoneal cancers should be considered for genetic counseling and testing, even in the absence of a family history.

Oncology practitioners now have several resources to consult for advice on genetic testing for their patients following the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) December 2013 update of its 2005 BRCA recommendations, plus new recommendations from the American Socieity of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) announced in February and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Study from one cancer center shows low knowledge and comfort levels.

Ellen T. Matloff, MS, CGC, director, Yale Cancer Genetic Counseling Program at the Yale School of Medicine/Yale Cancer Center, discusses options for BRCA1/2 carriers who are looking to reduce their risk of ovarian cancer.

Physicians may have a clearer understanding of the optimum age for prophylactic oophorectomy in patients with BRCA mutations who want to reduce their risk of ovarian, fallopian tube, and breast cancer

Ellen T. Matloff, MS, CGC, director, Yale Cancer Genetic Counseling Program at the Yale School of Medicine/Yale Cancer Center, discusses prophylactic treatment options outside of oophorectomy for BRCA1/2 carriers.

In the current digital age, where all-too-personal information flows from Facebook and Twitter, it seems that the health information available through the process of genetic testing would be an idea welcomed by most of the public.

Sharon Tollin, PhD, ARNP-BC, OCN®, discusses the unmet need for information regarding patients who have undergone prophylactic risk-reducing surgery (such as mastectomy and removal of tubes and ovaries).

The past 8 months have been particularly newsworthy in the field of cancer genetics, specifically with regards to BRCA testing.

Penny Daugherty, RN, MS, OCN, Southeastern Gynecologic Oncology, explains how nurses in her practice discuss genetics and genomics with patients.

Cancer centers are beginning to establish oncology nurse navigator programs with integrated processes for assessment, identification, referral, education, care, and support for patients whose gynecologic cancers may be genetically-based.

The decision about whether to get tested for a genetic mutation that may predispose a person to certain cancers is a difficult one for many patients to make. Even more difficult for mutation carriers is deciding whether to undergo a prophylactic surgical procedure.