As Breast Cancer Awareness month continues, Dr. Bhuma Krishnamachari, an epidemiologist and genetics expert at NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, is available to talk about the changing landscape of genetic tests and what it means for patients and doctors.
“Genetic testing has changed from a single gene approach to a multiple gene approach,” says Krishnamachari, who specializes in hereditary cancers.
Yet, doctors may not understand the clinical significance of the gene mutations found in these more comprehensive tests.
“With more information comes more questions,” says Krishnamachari.
For patients, Krishnamachari offers several tips to navigate the often confusing world of genetic tests.
“It’s important to find a doctor who is well-versed in hereditary factors and who involves many disciplines in patient care because the complexity of testing has increased,” she says. “We’re moving toward more individualized treatments so the team should include genetic counselors, surgeons, oncologists, and primary care physicians.”
Krishnamachi recently led NYIT research teams that published three separate studies on the need for physicians to learn more about genetic testing so they can help patients who may have a high risk of developing breast, ovarian, and colorectal cancers.
Physicians, she says, should be aware of the limitations that occurred in past, less comprehensive tests their patients may have had. Ethnicity-specific differences for mutations measured in BRCA tests, for example, must be understood since some patients may be at higher risk for certain cancers.
“It will take time for knowledge and clinical practice to catch up with genetic technology,” she says, “but these tests, coupled with strong genetic counseling, can be valuable for a patient’s health outcomes.”
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