Actress Angelina Jolie recently surprised the world when announced she had an elective double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer. By having her genes tested, she learned she is a carrier of BRCA 1, a "faulty" gene that dramatically increases her risk of ovarian and breast cancers.
Hear from pioneering Bay Area doctors who are using gene sequencing as a tool in the fight against cancer. Which cancers are most impacted by advances in gene sequencing? How can you or someone you love benefit? How much does it cost and who pays?
To learn about the potentially life-saving uses of gene sequencing in the prevention and treatment of cancer, listen to guest host Victoria Thorp and the following guests:
Dr. Laura van't Veer, PhD is world-renowned molecular biologist whose research focuses on genomics and breast cancer. She aims to advance patient management based on knowledge of the genetic makeup of the tumor as well as the genetic makeup of the patient. She is Professor of Laboratory Medicine, Program Leader of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Breast Oncology Program (BOP), Principle Investigator of the Bay ARea Breast Cancer SPORE, Director of Applied Genomics with the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UCSF-Site Principal Investigator of the Athena Breast Health Network. Additionally, she is also a founder of the molecular profiling company Agendia.
Lincoln Nadauld, PhD helped develop technologies at Stanford University that identify DNA changes in cancer to predict whether or not a targeted cancer drug might be effective for a specific patient. He is the Director of Cancer Genomics and Personalized Medicine for Intermountain Healthcare, a health network based in Utah. He is also on the faculty at Stanford University where he specializes in gastroinestinal malignancies and cancer genomics at the Stanford Cancer Center.
Producer: Wendy Holcombe