Genetic testing helps target cancer risks

HARRISON: One out of three people will develop cancer during their lifetime, and for Barbara Dobson of Cheswick, statistics struck early and hard.

The 43-year-old mother was diagnosed with late stage rectal cancer in September.

Since then, she has undergone several months of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, along with surgery to remove the malignant tumor from her digestive tract.

Dobson attends meetings of the HOPE support group every month at Allegheny Valley Hospital, which helps her to cope with her disease and ongoing treatment.

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HOPE is an acronym for help, optimism, peace and education.

The group of about 30 cancer patients, survivors and their relatives meets once each month at the hospital to share their experiences with cancer and to learn more about the disease.

Among the concerns often raised at support group meetings is that of hereditary, said Sue Kristine, a registered nurse in the radiation oncology department at the hospital and a breast cancer survivor.

Many group members ask what caused their cancer to develop, and they are concerned about what cancer risks their children and families might face, said Kristine, who is a coordinator for the support group.

To address these questions, Sheila Solomon, a genetic counselor from Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh spoke to the group Wednesday night.

Early next month, Solomon will be opening a monthly genetic counseling clinic at Armstrong County Memorial Hospital in East Franklin.

Genetic counseling is a new field that blends together cutting edge scientific technology with social work.

Genetic counselors are trained health professionals that help people to identify and understand what diseases they might pass on to their children and what they might inherit from their parents.

They empower their patients to make important and often emotional decisions such as whether to have more children or to seek preventative treatment for a disease.

To make her diagnosis, Solomon said she usually obtains her patients' family health history and may order blood tests to screen for specific disorders.

Solomon then interprets the complicated language of genetics into layman's terms so families can get practical information about their risk and how to find the support they need.

Cancer is caused by mistakes in the genetic code, but not all of these errors are passed along from generation to generation, Solomon told the HOPE support group.

In fact, just 5 percent to 10 percent of cancer is hereditary, Solomon said.

Solomon then held up a small plastic test tube containing a near-invisible blob of white goo that was a sample of her DNA.

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the body's instruction manual, and spelling errors in the manual known as mutations can cause cancer or other diseases. Large segments of DNA are called genes, which in turn, are linked together in strings called chromosomes.

In many cases, by analyzing the DNA of cancer patients and survivors, genetic counselors can determine whether the disease has been inherited.

Genetic testing isn't cheap.

For example, screens for mutations that increase the risk of breast cancer can cost thousands of dollars, although many health insurance carriers now pay for these tests, Solomon said.

All testing is confidential, and discrimination on the basis of genetic information is illegal under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Solomon said.

Rumors that insurance companies are using genetic information to deny coverage to patients or to raise their premiums so far have been unfounded, she said.

While genetic testing may reveal difficult information, it can help to alleviate uncertainty and lead to interventions that prevent cancer and other diseases when they still are curable, according to Solomon.

Joining Dobson at Wednesday's support group meeting to learn about genetic testing was her 34-year-old sister, Patty Maslanka of Shaler.

Both women said they didn't know much about the role of hereditary in cancer prior to Solomon's talk, but now they plan to look into whether there is an inherited link to the disease in their family.

Dobson, who had three hours of chemotherapy on Wednesday morning and still has 13 more treatment sessions scheduled, said genetic counseling may save her 22-year-old daughter, Heather, from experiencing the same pain she is going through.

Leukemia survivor Dom Pizoli, 73, also of Cheswick, agreed.

"I'm too old for it to do any good for me," said Pizoli, who underwent a bone marrow transplant seven years ago. "But my wife and I are going to pass this information along to our kids."

To learn more


Genetic counseling may be especially important for families who have:

# Many relatives who developed cancer at a young age.
# Multiple cancers occurring on the same side of the family.
# More than one type of cancer in one relative.
# Relatives with a rare type of cancer.
# It also can be helpful for couples who are planning a pregnancy.

For more information or to schedule an evaluation by the Cancer Genetics Program at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, call 412-359-8064.

A genetic counseling clinic also will open in early April at Armstrong County Memorial Hospital in East Franklin.

Jennifer Bails can be reached at jbails@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7991.
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