Download breast cancer gene testing

dr felicia tan
Breast Surgery
BREAST CANCER GENE TESTING
ON 14TH MAY 2013, ANGELINA JOLIE - COMMONLY
- FeM Surgery, for instance, sends the blood sample
held to be one of the most beautiful women in the
to patented laboratories in Australia or America
world - made a shocking announcement in the New
for analysis, and it takes about three months for
York Times. She had undergone a preventive double
the results to come back - but once the results
mastectomy after learning that she carried a genetic
are in, the patient will learn if they have indeed
mutation that increased the odds of developing breast
inherited a BRCA gene mutation.
cancer to 87 per cent and ovarian cancer to 50 per
mutations are fairly uncommon, and many patients
cent. Even though she had no current signs of either
come back with no evidence of such a mutation.
disease, Jolie decided to get tested because her
mother died of ovarian cancer at the age of 56.
While
of
it only reveals a person’s risk for developing cancer:
it is not a life sentence dictating that the patient
discuss the medical science behind her decision.
will definitely develop the disease in the future.
across
What
exactly
how
does
mastectomy
all
was
media
the
caused
outlets,
few
lot
and
While preventive surgery such as a double
help?
mastectomy (ala Angelina Jolie) has been known
Mutations to either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene can
to reduce breast cancer risk by about 90 per cent,
undergoing
genetic
a
It should however be noted that even if a
patient were to receive a positive result on the test,
actually
uproar
the
Thankfully, such
a
mutation,
mastectomy
significantly increase your risk of breast and ovarian
other options are also available.
cancer when compared with the cancer risk of a
one’s fallopian tubes and ovaries, for instance,
woman without such a mutation. Men with inherited
has been known to reduce breast cancer risk
BRCA mutation also face an increased risk of breast
by 50 per cent in premenopausal women while
cancer, and the same mutation may increase the risk
reducing ovarian cancer risk by more than 90 per
of other types of cancer in both women and men.
cent in both pre- and postmenopausal women.
The removal of
The detection test for this mutation is fairly
Preventive surgery like what Angelina Jolie chose
straightforward and requires nothing more than a
is not your only option. Increase surveillance with
blood sample from the patient, where the DNA within
regular, close-interval breast screening and ovarian
the sample is then analysed to identify any mutations
screening can help detect cancer at an early stage.
in either one of these two genes. As a general rule
Cancers detected at an early stage have a good chance
of thumb, this screening test is only offered to people
of complete cure with very tolerable treatment regimes.
who have a higher than average risk of developing
Patients at high risk of developing breast cancer may also
such mutations: primarily, people who have a personal
take a medication called tamoxifen to reduce this risk.
or family history of such mutations. It is not a routine
The
decision
for
breast
cancer
gene
screening examination, nor is it regularly performed
testing should be made only after a thorough
on women who do not have any reason to suspect
discussion with your doctor and full understanding
that they may have inherited such a mutation.
of
the
myriad
implications
of
the
result.
n
It takes awhile for the analysis to be completed
DR FELICIA TAN | Breast Surgeon
FeM Surgery
MBBS (Singapore), M Med (Surg) (Singapore), FRCS
3 Mount Elizabeth #05-02 Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre. Tel: 6733 3383
(Edinburgh)
www.femsurgery.com
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