Understand your family history
More testing offered
The Ontario researchers expect the results would be similar across the country. French Canadian women are also genetically predisposed to the mutations, which Metcalfe explains as “common founder mutations.” In both ethnicities, she says “the population stays together so those mutations don’t get filtered out over generations.” They hope this study demonstrates the need to screen based on genetic predisposition and not just family history.
But the researchers aren’t waiting for the government to realize guidelines should be changed, though they will do a formal economic evaluation for provincial review. With the published paper came an announcement: A new round of testing is being offered, for up to 5,000 women.
“It really wasn’t a research question,” says Metcalfe. “We know a lot of these women who have mutations wouldn’t have been eligible for genetic testing based on the current provincial guidelines, so what do we do about this? For us, it’s something we feel we need to do for the Jewish population. We need to offer this testing when we know that so many mutations would be observed in people who wouldn’t have been qualified to have this testing done clinically.” About 2,200 women signed up the first day.
Know your family history, understand your risks
Although Moshinsky received a letter that revealed her genetic test for the mutated gene was negative and her risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer was no greater, she learned a lot about her family’s medical history. “Not until I completed the study questionnaire did I fully realize how prevalent cancer is in my family,” she says. “I’m more predisposed to this disease than I originally thought and I’m a little embarrassed by my naiveté.”
That realization is exactly what Metcalfe wants others to take away from the study. “It doesn’t have to do with being Jewish. It doesn’t have to do with breast cancer,” she says. “Be aware of what’s happening with your relatives -- both on your mother’s side and your father’s side -- because it may inform what you are at a higher risk for.”
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