Video

Expert Discusses Surgical Implications of a BRCA Mutation

Author(s):

William J Gradishar, M.D.

William J. Gradishar, M.D., discusses the potential surgical implications for a woman with breast cancer who tests positive for a BRCA mutation, and why it is important to be aware of this genetic information.

William J. Gradishar, M.D., chief of hematology and oncology in the Department of Medicine and Betsy Bramsen Professor of Breast Oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, discusses the potential surgical implications for a woman with breast cancer who tests positive for a BRCA mutation, and why it is important to be aware of this genetic information.

Women with BRCA mutations have a higher chance of both breast and ovarian cancer. So, women may want to consider a bilateral mastectomy, even if the breast cancer only occurs on one side, to prevent a recurrence. Surgical removal of the ovaries may also be considered, to drastically decrease the chance of developing ovarian cancer.

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Dr. Alan Tan is a genitourinary oncology (GU) and melanoma specialist at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee; an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center; and GU Executive Officer with the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology.
Dr. Chandler Park, a medical oncologist of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, at the Norton Healthcare Institute, in Louisville, Kentucky.
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Dr. Andreas M. Kaiser is a professor and chief of the Division of Colorectal Surgery in the Department of Surgery at City of Hope comprehensive cancer center in Duarte, California.
Dr. Guru Sonpavde emphasized the importance of better understanding how genetic mutations influence the treatment of cancer care, particularly GU cancers.
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