Pilot Program for Genetic Testing

A charitable foundation in the United Kingdom recently announced a pilot program to genetically test patients for ovarian and breast cancer. Due to sequencing, which is a method for reading genetic code, looking for gene mutations has become faster and more affordable (only a few hundred dollars), according to Wellcome Trust.

The genetic test was developed by Illumina Inc. and was designed to analyze 97 cancer-associated genes, such as the BRCA 1 and 2 genetic markers, within just a few weeks. The test will be introduced in London’s Royal Marsden hospitals in 2014. If it’s successful, it will expand to the rest of the United Kingdom and the National Health Service.

“It is very important to know if a mutation in a person’s genetic blueprint has caused their cancer,” explained Dr. Nazneen Rahman, a genetics leader at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Cancer Genetics Clinical Unit at The Royal Marsden. “It allows more personalized treatment, so for example such people are often at risk of getting another cancer and may choose to have more comprehensive surgery, or may need different medicines, or extra monitoring. It also improves the information available for relatives about their own cancer risks. Sometimes a relative is found to also have an increased risk of cancer, and screening or preventative measures can be employed. Just as frequently, testing provides the reassuring news that a relative is not at increased risk of cancer and does not need interventions.”

Follow this link for more information.

Tai Chi Helps Ovarian Cancer Patients in Mt. Lebanon

David Clippinger, 45, goes by many titles in Mt. Lebanon:

• Author
• Professor
• Lecturer
• Tai Chi and Chi Kung Master
• Owner of Still Mountain, a tai chi school
• Buddhist monk
• Buddhist priest

With all of this, Clippinger uses his knowledge and talents to help women with ovarian cancer through tai chi. He believes that there are health benefits linked to practicing tai chi, which includes a lowering of blood pressure and an increased healing rate for cancer patients who’ve undergone radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

In 2005, he was the keynote speaker for the National Ovarian Cancer Symposium when it was held in Pittsburgh. He serves as a wellness program consultant for a number of organizations and corporations, including the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He has also staged therapeutic workshops in chi kung and tai chi at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, the Cancer Caring Center, Gilda’s Club of Western Pennsylvania, the National Hemophilia Foundation’s Family Weekend, The Dean Ornish Program at Allegheny General, the Healing Weekend Retreat for Persons for HIV/AIDS, and the Shepherd Wellness Community Center.

Follow this link for more information.

Jolie's Decision to Be a Previvor of Breast and Ovarian Cancer

You may have noticed recently that the media can’t stop mentioning Angelina Jolie. For those of you who may not know her, she is an A-list actress who is well known for her adoptions and charity work in Third World countries. She also underwent a double mastectomy in February after learning that she has the BRCA 1 gene mutation.

This procedure makes Jolie a “previvor.” She doesn’t have cancer, but the gene mutation gave her an 85 percent chance that she would eventually be diagnosed with it. She underwent the procedure with that in mind, and it was only a matter of time before her attention shifted to ovaries. This is because the BRCA 1 gene doesn’t just cause breast cancer; the mutation also causes ovarian cancer.

To be a previvor of that as well, Jolie plans to have both of her ovaries removed.

Despite drawing inspiration from her decisions, readers should remember that normal women make these decisions every day. And whereas Jolie has enough money to not bat an eye at surgeries and a giant family already (a mix of biological and adopted children), most women must worry about financial concerns and family expansion. Also, it is still possible for Jolie to contract breast or ovarian cancer elsewhere in her body.

But thanks to her, women are becoming more aware of these “previvor” possibilities and the importance of genetic testing.

Facts about HPV

We've already told you that untreated HPV can result in cervical cancer. You've also probably heard that fact before. But what exactly is HPV? How dangerous is it really, can you tell whether you may have contracted it, and can you treat it?

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. Over 40 types affect the genital area, as well as the mouth and throat. HPV can be contracted during genital contact through intercourse or oral sex. Both genders can contract it. However, most people don’t realize they have it and may not show symptoms for years.

The good news is that the body’s immune system is capable of clearing out HPV from the body within two years. But a person could also show symptoms, which include:

• Genital warts, warts in the throat
• Abnormal cells—which could form cancer

In order to detect the infection, girls can undergo a Pap smear or an HPV test, which is similar to a Pap but specifically looks for HPV.   

Although there is no treatment for the virus itself, there are treatments for the symptoms. Those treatments include:

• Medications for the warts
• Removal of abnormal cells
• General cancer treatments
• Surgery

For more information, follow this link. 

Biomarkers and Determining Cancer Occurrences

Did you know that biomarkers can be used to determine ovarian cancer and recurrence? Maybe. But do you know what biomarkers are? How these biomarkers interact with each other affect outcomes of occurrence and recurrence.

Researchers try to find molecules called biomarkers that help determine a person’s likelihood of getting a disease or, if they have already been diagnosed, how far the disease has advanced. Genes, transcription factors and microRNAs are often used as biomarkers because these molecules can be heralds of disease or portents of susceptibility. 

Genes are segments of DNA that code for proteins or other molecules that perform the functions of the cell. Transcription factors regulate these genes by binding to specific DNA sequences, preventing or inducing the genes to be “expressed” at higher or lower levels.

MicroRNAs, as their name suggests, are small RNA molecules that regulate an intermediate stage of gene expression. Transcription factors and microRNAs also can regulate each other.
The relationships among transcription factors, microRNAs and target genes can be visualized as interconnected networks. These intricate webs are often used to determine how diseases such as cancer proceed. Analyzing how these networks function in cancer can offer insight into how tumor cells proliferate and differentiate, undergo (or resist) programmed cell death, and how likely they are to become invasive.

Learn more about the recent research and other findings by following this link.