The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently granted the first marketing authorization for a cancer genetic testing panel.
Kevin Hughes, M.D., an MUSC Hollings Cancer Center doctor who is among those leading efforts to develop protocols for hereditary cancer, said that although the news doesn’t alter what’s already happening at Hollings, he hopes that it will bring more awareness to the possibilities of genetic testing.
Hughes is director of the Hollings Hereditary Cancer Clinic, one of a handful of such clinics across the country. He noted that a small percentage of cancers – about 10% – are hereditary, meaning the person inherited a genetic mutation that can lead to cancer.
But, he said, the vast majority of people walking around with these genetic mutations have no idea that they have them or that they’re at heightened risk of developing cancer.
“Genetic testing is critical to find people who have mutations in order to decrease the morbidity and mortality of cancer,” he said.
“Genetic testing is critical to find people who have mutations in order to decrease the morbidity and mortality of cancer.”
Kevin Hughes, M.D.
Hollings Hereditary Cancer Clinic
Hollings tests cancer patients for up…
