How Genetic Testing Can Help Identify Your Risk for Cancer

One of the areas of medical science that continues to have impressive advances is genetic testing. “The introduction of breakthrough medications and treatments has greatly expanded the utility of cancer genetic testing in recent years,” says Louise E. Morrell, M.D., medical director of Lynn Cancer Institute, which along with Miami Cancer Institute is part of Baptist Health Cancer Care. “Cancer genetic testing can reveal potential ‘defects’ in your genetic makeup that increase your risk for certain types of cancer.”

“It is now well known that mutations in BRCA 1 and 2 genes raise the breast cancer risk, not only in Ashkenazi Jewish women, but all women, including Hispanic and Blacks,” says Dr. Morrell. But with the rapid evolution of genetics, doctors now know of many other gene mutations that increase the risk of breast cancer, including ATM, BARD1, CHEK2, RAD51C, RAD51D, PALB2, CDH1, TP53, NF1 and STK11.

Louise E. Morrell, M.D., medical director of Lynn Cancer Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, a part of Baptist Health Cancer Care

“We have seen an evolution of knowledge in recent years regarding the role genetics plays in determining an individual’s cancer risk,” Dr. Morrell says. “Some cancers have very potent hereditary causes and if you know you carry a genetic mutation, you can start screening earlier or take preventive action and save lives.”

Having this knowledge, Dr. Morrell emphasizes, can help motivate you and your family to maintain lifelong vigilance for that cancer’s symptoms and keep current with your mammograms and other health screenings.

Cancer genetic testing with your mammogram

Most health organizations recommend genetic testing as young as age 25 for women who have a family or personal history of breast cancer. It has become such a valuable tool in identifying individuals at risk for breast cancer and other cancer types that Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute, in conjunction with Lynn Cancer Institute, now offers the opportunity for on-the-spot cancer genetic testing to every woman who comes in for an annual mammogram.

According to Dr. Morrell, cancer genetic testing at Lynn Women’s Institute screens for a variety of cancers that can affect families. “We’re now able to identify those genes that through a mutation can predispose you and perhaps other members of your family to a dramatically different risk of developing cancer – not just any cancer but a specific type of cancer,” she says.

Cancers that have a strong genetic component include:

• Breast
• Melanoma (skin)
• Endometrial, uterine, ovarian
• Metastatic prostate (if assigned male at birth)
• Gastric, colon, rectal
• Pancreatic

“And thanks to the increase in genetic testing, we now have a much larger pool of data that allows us to determine how a particular genetic mutation can affect your statistical risk of developing cancer,” Dr. Morrell notes. “Wouldn’t you want to know if you or a family member has a genetic mutation that increases your risk for developing a certain type of cancer?”

Genetic testing much more accessible and affordable

Aside from its ability to help determine one’s cancer risk, Dr. Morrell says, another factor behind the increasingly widespread use of cancer genetic testing is that it is so much more accessible and affordable today.

“Testing for cancer genes in the lab used to be a very technical and difficult process. Not so very long ago, it could easily cost $4,000 to test for one cancer gene and take two months to get the result,” Dr. Morrell says. Today, however, the process for testing is much more automated. “With next-generation gene sequencing, we can look through hundreds of thousands of DNA strands at a time and the technical cost of doing it is a fraction of what it used to be. And your health insurance may cover all or some of the screening costs.”

Dr. Morrell continues, “The benefit of doing the test is what can happen as a result to prevent cancer – not just for you but also your whole family. Understanding if you have an inherited risk for cancer empowers you to prepare for your future. And the opportunity for benefit is much broader than any other type of screening test you do because it can be useful for other members and future generations of your family – especially your siblings and your children.”

Patients interested in genetic testing start by answering a few simple questions about their medical history and any incidence of cancer in their family. Oncologists want to know if anyone in your immediate family – parents; grandparents; brothers and sisters; children; aunts and uncles, and nieces and nephews – has ever had any type of cancer. If the answer is “yes,” your risk could be higher.

A lab assistant gathers enough information from the patient to determine if they’re eligible for cancer genetic testing. A saliva sample is then collected and sent to the lab for analysis and the patient goes home. When the lab results come back, Lynn Cancer Institute schedules an appointment with the patient to discuss next steps.

“We know that early detection and diagnosis leads to better outcomes,” says Dr. Morrell. “As a comprehensive cancer center, part of Lynn Cancer Institute’s mission is to ensure that everyone in South Florida – especially those in at-risk and underserved populations – has timely and convenient access to cancer screenings, testing, diagnosis and treatment.”