BROCA panel – pro
The BROCA test is not the same as BRCA. BROCA, which looks at 24 genes that have been associated with breast cancer. BROCA is named after a 19th century French physician-scientist Paul Broca who was the first to propose that hereditary factors may influence development of breast and ovarian cancer.
For the study, researchers tested 2,285 members of 743 families using BROCA. In each family there was one at least one woman who had received normal results from genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.The researchers found that 191 of the families had mutations of 18 distinct genes that could indicate increased breast and ovarian cancer risk, and demonstrate why the diseases may be prevalent in those particular families.
Of the 191 families, 35 percent were carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2, but those mutations were not detected in standard commercial testing, such as tests primarily offered by Myriad Genetics & Laboratories. BROCA is designed to detect a set of mutations that aren’t covered by other commercial testing.
Panels that incorporate testing for multiple genetic syndromes are controversial. They often include testing for condition for which treatment recommendations are nto complete and what to do with the information is not known. Unlike well studies breast and ovarian studied markers, the risk for developing cancer in patients identified by BROCA testing is not known and what to do with the positive test is also not known.
UK Genetic Testing Network workshop. Developing testing criteria for familial breast and ovarian cancer: incorporating NICE guidelines 15 July 2014 | Chandos House, London
American Society of Human Genetics. “BROCA sequencing approach evaluates all 24 genes implicated in breast cancer.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 24 October 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131024090239.htm>.