Network News - Winter/Spring 2010 - Canadian Breast Cancer ...

Referral Criteria – Other
Cancer is common in the general population. Certain
family characteristics may raise concern for hereditary
cancer:
1. Two or more cases of an uncommon cancer in first
and/or second degree relatives
2. Cancer that is diagnosed much younger than
usual, where there is another cancer
of the same type, at any age, in a first and/or
second degree relative
3. Clustering of cancer in a family, significantly
above expected for the size of family
Exceptions:
a. Lung – almost always due to personal or secondhand
smoking, or environmental exposure
b. Cervical – almost always due to a viral infection •
If you are uncertain about whether a patient/family may be at risk
for hereditary cancer, please contact 780-407-7333 and speak to the
genetic counsellor or Dr. D Gilchrist.
The Hereditary Breast and Ovarian
Cancer Foundation Third International
Symposium on BRCA in Montreal in
October 2009
This past fall, over 400 participants
from all corners of the globe
gathered in Montreal for the
Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer
Foundation (HBOC) 3rd International
Symposium on BRCA themed 15 Years
of Progress. Attendees participated
in three days of lectures and
workshops given by over 40 faculty
from around the world. Over one
hundred carriers and their families
had a full day of sessions devoted
to their needs given by international
experts. Topics included: ways to
modify risk; managing menopause;
communicating genetic risk to family
members; the psychological impact
of living with BRCA; an update on
breast reconstruction; and practicing mindfulness. Clinicians,
researchers and genetic counsellors were updated on the
role of PARP inhibitors in treating genetically linked breast
and ovarian cancers; new breast cancer genes CHEK2 and
PALB2; new prevention and screening strategies; and how to
classify patients with newly discovered BRCA1 and BRCA2
gene mutations. Over 90 new research studies were also
presented. Planning is underway for the next meeting in
October 2011. To review full information on the conference,
please go to www.odon.ca/brca .
In some Canadian populations, as many as 1 in 40 women
have certain alterations in their basic genetic code,
commonly referred to as BRCA mutations. In the absence
of risk-reducing strategies, these women have as high as a
90 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer, and a
40 percent lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer. BRCA
mutations are inherited, so this change in the genetic code
may be passed from parents to children, putting future
generations at risk.
The Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Foundation
(www.hboc.ca) is a community-oriented volunteer driven
Canadian charity with a tripartite mission: Awareness,
Action, and Research.
Awareness: HBOC encourages families and their
healthcare providers to become aware of their medical and
disease histories and provides the resources to assess for
hereditary breast and ovarian cancer risk.
Action: HBOC provides women and their families, who are
found to be at risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer,
the information and the professional support they need to
cope with and act on their state.
Research: HBOC supports research that evaluates the
outcomes of women with proven genetic risk of breast
and ovarian cancer, as well as evaluation of different riskreducing
modalities. HBOC equally encourages basic
science research related to the genetics of breast and ovarian
cancer.
The Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Foundation
seeks to fulfill its mission by working in cooperation with
university or hospital-based programs in cancer genetics. •
For more information, please call 1-514-482-8174, e-mail
info@hboc.ca or visit their website at www.hboc.ca .
Mailing address:
Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Foundation
PO Box 434, Snowdon
Montreal, Quebec, H3X 3T7
14 Network News Winter/Spring 2010