Genetic testing for ovarian cancer patients

The genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 play a significant role in hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. Recent media attention has focused on American actress Angelina Jolie’s decision to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes surgically removed after genetic testing for such cancers.

A study led by a team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) in collaboration with the Centre de recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM) and the Jewish General Hospital; suggests that all women with ovarian cancer should be tested for these genes, regardless of their family history. The findings, published in the Journal of Ovarian Research, have clinical implications both for the treatment of this disease and for the screening of individuals at-risk.

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