NCI Releases New Cancer Genetics Information

The National Cancer Institute recently released two new summaries as part of its Cancer Genetics PDQ for Health Professionals. "Cancer Genetics Overview," released in July, provides the basics for understanding concepts covered by PDQ summaries. Topics include:

Significance of the terms mutation and carrier
Assumptions concerning the identification of people with an increased susceptibility to cancer
Evaluation of evidence
Genetic counseling
Quality of evidence
Study populations
Evidence related to screening
Evidence related to prevention

"Genetics of Breast and Ovarian Cancer," released in August, provides a comprehensive overview of these two diseases with numerous references. Topics include:

Family history as a risk factor for breast cancer
Other risk factors for breast cancer
Models for prediction of breast cancer risk
Models for predicting the likelihood of a BRCA1/2 mutation
Major genes: BRCA1/BRCA2, Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, Cowden's Syndrome, Ataxia Telangiectasia
Genetic polymorphisms and breast cancer risk
Interventions for breast and ovarian cancer

As with all PDQs, these will also be updated as new information becomes available.

Both are available at NCI's CancerNet web site, under Health Professionals: Cancer Genetics Information: Cancer Genetics Information Summaries (http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov/genetics/genetics_summaries.htm).