New service aims at early detection of hereditary cancer

Identifying genetic changes that can cause hereditary cancer, the early detection of tumors and applying the best treatment possible are some of the aims of the new Clinical Genetics Cancer Service launched by the Oncological Network of Catalonia.

It is estimated that some 5% of breast and colon cancer cases are hereditary, and identifying the risks of developing them can help diagnosis and raise survival rates. Working in a network and sharing research data to compile a database are among the basic aims of the project.

Yet, the Clinical Genetics Cancer Service plans to go further and provide those people at risk of hereditary breast and colon cancer with exhaustive tests so as to diagnose any signs of cancer as early as possible, and then to come up with the optimal treatment for each tumor detected.  

The new service will target those people in the same family who develop similar cancers, individuals who suffer from more than one type of cancer, as well as those patients who develop rare forms of cancer, and families in which a genetic mutation predisposes the members to a certain type of cancer.

One of the cases cited in the presentation of the new service was that of a woman whose breast cancer was found to be genetic, which led to the monitoring of her three daughters, two of whom carried the mutated gene. During a scan, a tumor was detected early in one of the women, which was treated and allowed her to overcome the illness.

The most common cancer among men in Catalonia is prostate cancer, followed colon and lung cancer, while in women breast cancer is by far the most common, followed by colon and cancer of the uterus. The number of cancer cases diagnosed in Catalonia are expected to rise in the next few years. Forecasts suggest that in men the 20,611 cases diagnosed in 2015 will rise to 21,743 cases in 2025, while for women the number of cases will rise from 15,437 to 17,268 in 2025.