Program in Detail

Genetic testing in women with ovarian cancer or triple negative breast cancer is accepted, available and usually Medicare funded. Why is it not more common inmen?Weknowmenwithmetastatic prostate cancer, unselectedby ageor family history, have>10%chanceof carrying a germline mutation in a homologous repair (HR) gene, with BRCA2making up 66%. This has important implications for patients. Prostate cancers containing BRCA2mutations have been shown to be uniquely aggressive. ThePSA velocity in thesemen is unreliablemaking aggressive treatment rather than active surveillance the initial treatment of choice. Men with BRCA2 mutations and metastatic disease demonstrate high response rates to PARP inhibitors and platinum-based chemotherapy. And, for men with mutations in mismatch repair genes, such as in Lynch syndrome, the tumours are highly immunogenic. So, when should you consider genetic testing, what test to choose andwhatwill the test tell you? International guidelines such as NCCN’s state ‘germline genetic testing (BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM and PALB2) should be considered in all men with high risk or metastatic prostate cancer’ as well as screening for Lynch syndrome (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2) ‘at diagnosis of castration resistant prostate cancer’. How does that translate into the Australian setting? This practical session will explain how to interpret somatic (tumour based) testing, whether ordered in the clinic or via a research trial. You will learn when germline (hereditary) testing should be performed and the implications for patients and their blood relatives. Using case studies, we will demonstrate how genetic testing is affordable and accessible and guides treatment decisions in men with prostate cancer, at all stages of their disease. Speaker: Dr Hilda High, Genetic Oncologist Head of Sydney Cancer Genetics Chairperson: Dr Gerald Goh, Senior Regional SegmentMarketingManager, Oncology Illumina Asia Pacific Japan