Basser Center News

BRCA: Who Should Be Tested?

January 2020

In a letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal, Basser’s Kara Maxwell, MD, PhD, and Susan Domchek, MD, responded to an article the paper recently published about genetic testing, pointing out that reinterpretation of a patient’s genetic testing results is an incredibly rare case.

Cancer Today

Germline genetic testing for breast cancer: which patients? What genes?

December 2019

Cancer Today interviewed Susan Domchek, MD, Executive Director of the Basser Center, about BRCA screening, who should get tested, and who is being left out under current guidelines.

Nature

A Brighter Outlook for Metastatic Breast Cancer

December 2019

In this editorial for Nature, Basser Executive Director Susan Domchek, MD, discusses genetic testing and breast cancer - which patients should be tested and what genetic mutations they should be tested for.

Cure Magazine

Abramson Cancer Center Experts Take Part in NBC10/AACR Telethon

Payal D. Shah, MD, an assistant professor of Hematology-Oncology at Penn Medicine and a member of the Basser Center, spoke about new treatments that are letting people live longer and improving quality of life for some patients with metastatic breast cancer.

NBC10

BRCA Rules Leave Patients Behind

Experts from Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center, including Basser Genetic Counselor Dana Farengo Clark, MS, LCGC, answered questions about cancer from NBC10 Philadelphia viewers as part of a telethon in partnership with the American Association for Cancer Research.

OncLive

Event in Manhattan raises over $8.5 million for research on BRCA-related cancers

New guidelines from USPSTF on BRCA genetic testing recommend risk assessment, counseling, and genetic testing for women who meet certain criteria but fall short of encompassing important groups of individuals who are at risk, according to critics of the update, including Basser’s Susan Domchek, MD.

ABC7

Family Matters: The Link Between Family History & BCRA Mutations

The Basser Center held its biannual Jean Bash fundraiser in Manhattan, bringing in more than $8.5 million to support research efforts in BRCA-related cancers.

ReachMD

Nina Garcia Honored At Basser Center Gala For Cancer Research

Are there certain populations that are at a higher risk of BRCA mutations you should be paying close attention to? Listen to Basser Executive Director Dr. Susan Domchek's interview with ReachMD.

Elle Magazine

Why Maya Rockeymoore Cummings began her congressional campaign with a double mastectomy

Nina Garcia, editor-in-chief of Elle Magazine and judge on Project Runway, was honored at the Basser Jean Bash fundraiser on November 18, 2019. Nina helped to launch LATINOS & BRCA, an initiative to raise awareness of hereditary cancer in the Latino community.

Washington Post

25 Years of BRCA: How a Cancer Milestone Has Changed the Field

Basser Executive Director Susan Domchek, MD, commented on Congressional candidate Maya Rockeymore Cummings’ decision to undergo a preventive double mastectomy based on her family history of cancer.

Penn Today

Beyoncé’s Dad Has a Mutation More African-Americans Should Be Tested For

2019 represents a specific milestone in the fight. It’s been 25 years since the BRCA1 gene was first cloned — a discovery that accelerated cancer research and opened a new path for exploration in cancer prevention and treatment.

New York Times

Breast Cancer is a Family Legacy for This Young Latina

Basser Young Leadership Council co-chair Erika Stallings writes for The New York Times about the importance of genetic testing for African Americans.

Philadelphia Inquirer

Breast Cancer, Genetics and the Milestone that Keeps Bringing Hope Closer

For Hispanic Heritage Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Alejandra Campoverdi writes for the Philadelphia Inquirer about her personal experience with hereditary cancer.

Philadelphia Inquirer

Dr. Domchek on Results of the MEDIOLA Trial in BRCA-Mutated Metastatic Breast Cancer

Basser Executive Director Susan Domchek, MD, marks 25 years since BRCA1 was first cloned. She explores the advances in the field since that milestone and looks to the future for areas of growth.

OncLive

Expert Discusses the Selection of Individuals for Germline Testing Based on Breast Cancer Risk

Basser Executive Director, Susan Domchek, MD, discusses the results of the MEDIOLA trial in germline BRCA-mutated metastatic breast cancer.

Targeted Oncology

Home Genetic Testing Kits Sound like a Great Idea — Until They Aren’t

Susan Domchek, MD, Executive Director of the Basser Center, discusses current guidelines and evolving best practices about when to order genetic testing for patients.

Philadelphia Inquirer

Mathew Knowles Reveals He is Battling Breast Cancer

Throughout October, Penn Medicine physicians, patients, and advocates are contributing to breast cancer awareness month with a series of op-eds for the Philadelphia Inquirer. In this week’s piece, Dana Farengo Clark, MS, LCGC, a senior genetics counselor at the Basser Center, talked about the risks and drawbacks of at-home genetic testing.

Good Morning America