(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A leading cancer risk expert says it’s time for
breast cancer assessment, counseling and genetic testing to become part of
primary care.
Funmi Olopade, M.D., Walther L. Palmer Distinguished Service professor of
medicine at Chicago Medical Center, says physicians now have enough information
to help patients understand the consequences of genetic testing. “Referral for
cancer-risk assessment and BRCA testing in the primary care setting is a
necessary step towards personalized medicine for women at risk for breast
cancer.”
Inherited mutations in the tumor suppressing genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are currently
the most powerful predictors of breast cancer. Dr. Olapade believes that primary
care physicians should learn about the genetics of cancer risk, take a
comprehensive history from patients and advise those who could be at risk about
genetic testing and risk-reduction strategies.
Studies have shown that genetic counseling and testing do not cause adverse
psychological effects. There is evidence that risk reduction is associated with
breast or ovary removal in patients with the BRCA1 or 2 mutations. And now there
are other preventive measures that include intensive screening and
chemoprevention.
Dr. Olapade adds that there is still a lot we don’t know about these
cancer-causing mutations. The frequency and impact in various ethnic groups is
not well understood and conflicting results also cloud the picture. As a result
many ethnic groups under use genetic testing. In addition, scientists are still
finding new mutations of BRCA1 and BRAC2. “We do know that mutation of these
genes is common in families with hereditary breast cancer and among young women
with breast cancer,” Dr. Olapade was quoted as saying. “Our goal is to make this
knowledge more and more available to patients and that has to begin in the
primary care setting. Only then can we hope to reap the benefits of
individualized medicine,”
SOURCE: The American Association for the Advancement of Science annual
meeting, Feb. 14 - 18, in Boston, Mass.
