Ovarian cancer is a growth of abnormal malignant cells that begins in a woman’s ovaries. Ovarian tumors can be either benign- noncancerous- or malignant- cancerous. Malignant cancerous cells in the ovaries can spread to other parts of the body through the bloodstream, lymph nodes, or directly to other organs, which are commonly the pelvis and abdomen. Women who are suspected of having ovarian cancer should begin genetic testing immediately after symptoms begin to appear. Whilst there is no reliable early detection tool for women, several tests exist for women who are at a high risk for ovarian cancer. The most common testing for ovarian cancer is blood testing; blood testing has the ability to identify the important signs of hereditary cancers: …show more content…
mutated BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Ovarian cancer is not a common disease that affects adolescents- in fact, hereditary ovarian cancer is a condition that does not shows symptoms until adulthood.
The two genes most commonly associated with ovarian cancer are BRCA1 and BRCA2; BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human genes that produce tumor suppressor proteins. The proteins help repair damaged DNA, but when either of these genes are mutated, DNA may not be repaired properly. As a result, cells would be more likely to develop additional mutations that lead to ovarian cancer. These genes can be found during a BracAnalysis Rearrangement Test, a panel that searches for specific genetic mutations. BART testing is usually recommended by genetic counselors for families that have a history of cancer but no identified mutation on other genetic tests. For testing, DNA from a blood sample of the patient is swabbed, then sent to a laboratory for analysis. In the United States, BRCA results are usually available in 2-3 weeks. These tests have been relied upon for helping women better understand and manage their cancer risk, and the results are highly …show more content…
reliable and accurate due to the fact that they include complete sequencing of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes as well as an additional procedure to identify five common large rearrangements in the BRCA1 gene. Large rearrangements indicate genetic mutations that could be the source of cancer development. A positive BRCA test result indicates that a significant mutation was found in either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene- it is rarely ever found in both genes. A negative BRCA test result means that no such BRCA gene mutation was found in the sample. However, test results can never be fully precise: they do not always provide a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to hereditary cancer risk in a woman or her family. There are test results that are "uninformative”, which do not provide any additional information about a family's cancer risk. Despite the drawbacks, the BART testing is the most effective form of ovarian cancer testing available for at-risk women. The American Society of Human Genetics released a statement in advance for DNA Day on April 25th, 2016, stating that "[a]dolescents should be encouraged to defer predictive or pre-dispositional testing for adult-onset conditions until adulthood because of the complexity of the potential impact of the information at formative life stages".
My research regarding ovarian cancer treatment prompts me to defend this statement above, because children’s risk of developing a cancer associated with genetic mutation is extremely low. For many diseases- including ovarian cancer- there are no risk-reduction test strategies regarding pediatric genetic medical testing, consequently resulting in confusion for patients about their diagnosis. Younger adolescents do not have the mature understanding to comprehend the results of these types of tests, especially if they indicate that they could potentially get the disease later on in life. There is little to no medical benefit to early screening and testing for children in the case of adult-related diseases, unless there is a family history of the
disease.
Cervical cancer tissues and normal cervical tissues were collected from 24 newly diagnosed patients with primary cervical cancer, in order to perform the experiments outlined in the paper. Experiments were also performed on the following human cervical carcinoma cell lines: HeLa, SiHa, C33A, and CaSki, which were purchased from a company. The researchers extracted the genomic DNA from the samples collected. The DNA was then bisulfite modified and amplified using PCR. The PCR product was then examined through gel electrophoresis to insure a single band was obtained, and then sequenced by Invitrogen. Methylation-specific PCR was then carried out of the bisulfate-treated DNA. This was done to check the consistency of the ...
Tests for cervical cancers and diseases are always progressing and the next step in identification molecular biomarkers. The use of these panels should coexist alongside the current LCB infrastructure increasing the chances of early diagnosis. HPV and its viral onco genes E6 and E7 has been found in 99+% of cervical neoplasia when both genes are expressed by damaging the DNA engineering dis-regulation (Walboomers. et al. 1999) (Giannoudis. et al. 2001). Other tumour molecules and proteins such as Ccd6 and p16(INNK4A) are over expressed in pre-cancer and malignant lesion production by un-restricted proliferation of malignant cells (Astbury, 2006). These markers could increase time periods between tests by increasing sensitivity (Hoyer. et al. 2005).
By using identified gene mutations that are known to cause diseases, asymptomatic individuals are able to discover if they are at risk for specific genetic conditions; this is known as genetic testing. Unfortunately, genetic testing can vary in its predictive ability. For example, Huntington disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Fragile X syndrome and multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 are conditions that can be determined by genetic testing (Samen, 1996). In contrast, for multifaceted diseases like Alzheimer’s, breast and ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer, predisposition can be determined with genetic testing. However, an absolute diagnosis of those diseases cannot be made (Heshka et al., 2008).
When speaking with the public health representative from LLS, Ms. Harry inquired the biggest challenge the organization faces is screening. For blood cancer patients it is very hard for screening to be done. There is no test out there for the screening of blood itself. In medical screening, there is MRI, EKG, CT Scans, etc. These different types of screenings are measured around the muscular and skeletal systems. Medical screenings check within the body, but does not test the liquid blood in any way. If Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is able to receive blood screening, the researchers may be able to find the direct link within the genetics of the different types of blood cancers in a patient.
A mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene is associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer
Due to the human genome project and other genetic research, tests for mutation which cause diseases have been developed. The list of these illnesses include several types of cancer. Doctors have estimated that as many as 3,000 diseases are due to mutations in the genome. These diseases include several types of colon cancer in which three different genetic tests have been already developed. Debates have arisen on whether these tests should be used regularly or not. Questions including the patients= rights of privacy and the possibility of loss of health or life insurance have been argued over in both the media and political arena.
When it comes to genetic diseases and conditions, testing can be very helpful and serve a good purpose. People with diseases that are inheritable to their children are encouraged to be tested. For example, in the article about Jewish testing, it says
Over the years, the fight against ovarian cancer has proven to be even more difficult due to the cancer being asymptomatic at its early stages. For this reason, there are constantly late diagnoses made on women who unfortunately develop this cancer (Stack).... ... middle of paper ... ...
Parents now have the possibility of testing genes for mutations and genetic problems (BBC News).
Trevena L. (2009) Cancer screening Reprinted from Australian Family Physician: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, New South Wales. Vol. 38, No. 4
These oncogenes cause cancer because they do not allow the cells to self-destruct or become epistatic. There have been several research projects which have been testing epistatis. Transfecting DNA To perform the experiments for this research, the researchers had to grow certain pieces of DNA.... ... middle of paper ...
Genetic testing, also known as screening, is a rapidly advancing new scientific field that can potentially revolutionize not only the world of medicine, but many aspects of our lives. Genetic screening is the sequencing of human DNA in order to discover genetic differences, anomalies, or mutations that may prove pathological. As genetic screening becomes more advanced and easily accessible, it presents society with difficult questions that must be asked about the boundaries of science and to what degree we are allowed to tamper with the human genome. To better understand the potential impact of genetic screening on our society, we must examine the potential benefits in comparison to the possible negative impact it may cause. With this knowledge in hand, we can examine what the future holds for this field of study and the best possible direction to take.
Uterine cancer is an important women health problem developing rapidly, killing over 200,000 women each year. No one has discovered the actual cause, but there is a leading factor that has great suspicions to what is causing this cancer to grow rapidly.
As stated by the company, “The BRAC Analysis technology test has benefitted more than 1 million patients and around 250,000 such tests are performed yearly” (Leung, M., 2014). Both these examples give an inkling of the possible advancements that can be brought about by gene patenting in the
Genetic testing can help people determine why they get cancer or other diseases. Genetic testing is recommended to people who have a family history of a genetic disease, have children who are born with genetic defects, and have gone through more than one miscarriage in the past. Though these te...