Ellen T. Matloff, MS, CGC

Ellen T. Matloff, MS, CGC, director, Yale Cancer Genetic Counseling Program at the Yale School of Medicine/Yale Cancer Center, gives an overview of the recent changes to the field of genetic testing.

Ellen T. Matloff, MS, CGC, director, Yale Cancer Genetic Counseling Program at the Yale School of Medicine/Yale Cancer Center, discusses the proper age for a carrier of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation to undergo oophorectomy.

Genetic counseling-including testing and risk assessment-is one of the most rapidly growing areas of oncology and has become the standard of care for patients with a personal and family history of breast, ovary, or colon cancer.

Ellen T. Matloff, MS, CGC, from the Yale School of Medicine/Yale Cancer Center, describes the impact of the US Supreme Court decision to restrict the patenting of segments of DNA in isolation.

Due to the high lifetime risk of ovarian cancer and the poor ovarian cancer surveillance options available, women who carry BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations are advised to remove their ovaries and fallopian tubes by age 40 or when childbearing is complete.

Genetic testing for cancer survivors may play a critical role in helping avoid a second primary cancer or it may help prevent family members from developing cancer.

A thorough personal and family history is the key to determining which patients are candidates for genetic counseling and testing.

Colon cancer is equally as likely as breast and ovarian cancer to be hereditary (approximately 10% of cases, overall) and there are many different genes responsible for these cases.

Detecting hereditary cancer and providing genetic counseling can help prevent a new primary cancer and may also help to protect family members from developing cancer.