BRCA Challenge creates database for fighting cancer

BRCA Exchange aggregates data on thousands of BRCA variants to inform understanding of cancer risk

A global resource that includes data on thousands of inherited variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes is available to the public. The BRCA Exchange was created through the BRCA Challenge, a long-term demonstration project initiated by the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) to enhance sharing of BRCA1 andBRCA2 data. The resource, available through a website and a new smartphone appExit Disclaimer, allows clinicians to review expert classifications of variants in these major cancer predisposition genes as part of their individual assessment of complex questions related to cancer prevention, screening, and intervention for high-risk patients. 

The five-year BRCA Challenge project was funded in part by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and through the Cancer Moonshot℠. A paper detailing the development of the BRCA Exchange was published January 8, 2019, in PLOS Genetics. READ MORE …

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month: Knowledge of BRCA2 gene is power

This Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month our Cancer Stories Officer, Lydia Brain, spoke to Davina Gardner – a survivor of ovarian and breast cancer – about being a BRCA2 gene carrier and how it has affected her and her family.

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U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for BRCA mutations

USPSTF: Screen At-risk Women for BRCA-related Cancer

Positive Screens Warrant Genetic Counseling, Testing

March 06, 2019 03:17 pm Chris Crawford – Mutations in the breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are just one of many factors that can greatly increase a woman's risk of developing certain cancers, such as breast and ovarian cancer. One important step in preventing these cancers is to help women understand their risk.

On Jan. 15, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) posted a draft recommendation statement(www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org) and draft evidence review(www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org) on risk assessment, genetic counseling and genetic testing for BRCA-related cancer in women.

Based on its review of the evidence, the USPSTF recommended that physicians screen women who have family members with breast, ovarian, tubal or peritoneal cancer or who have an ethnicity or ancestry associated with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations with one of several screening tools designed to identify a family history that may be associated with an increased risk for potentially harmful mutations in these breast cancer susceptibility genes, the draft recommendation said.

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