Of the new cancer cases expected to be diagnosed in 2018, as many as 10 percent will be the result of an inherited gene mutation. Insight into hereditary risk would enable an individual to consider steps, such as more frequent screening, to potentially detect cancer in an earlier, more treatable stage.
Sonora Quest Laboratories, Arizona’s leading provider of diagnostic testing and information services, now offers three new lab tests that can enable patients to understand their risk and take appropriate changes in lifestyle, through the guidance of their healthcare provider, to reduce their risk. These tests include BRCAvanatge®, which tests for genes associated with BRCA-related breast and ovarian cancer syndrome, and GIvantage™, which tests for risk of hereditary colon and gastric cancers.
The new lab-developed tests, available through Sonora Quest’s parent company, Quest Diagnostics, feature a 34-gene panel called MYvantage™ that includes several genes not widely found on existing cancer risk panels. Emerging evidence suggests that the presence of certain mutations of these genes may heighten an individual’s likelihood of developing certain types of breast, ovarian, endometrial and other cancers.
