Continuing Disparities in Testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations
January 12, 2020
Perelman School of Medicine Professor of Oncology and a member of the Advisory Group of the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I) Susan Domchek, MD, is featured in an article in Cancer Today about women who are not getting screened for BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations that increase the risk of various cancers.
The article points out that 25 years after the mutations were discovered, the guidelines for who should be tested have changed a number of times. And it’s now known that the same gene mutations can increase the risk of cancer in men.
At least 1.2 million women who meet the criteria to be tested for the genes, have not been tested, the magazine reports. In her interview, Domchek points out that “it’s important to remember that there are a lot of people at the highest risk for having these mutations who are not getting access to testing… and this is often minorities. So, we need to address this disparity.”
Cancer Today is a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research that circulates to cancer patients, survivors and caregivers throughout the U.S.
