Different Options for Cancer Genetic Testing
December 09, 2020Different Options for Cancer Genetic Testing
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- 00:00When we talk about genetic testing,
- 00:02obviously that's pretty broad and there's
- 00:05lots of different areas of genetic testing,
- 00:07even if we're only talking
- 00:09about cancer genetic testing.
- 00:11So one of the things that often comes up
- 00:13now as different testing technologies.
- 00:16Both are becoming more common.
- 00:18Is this somatic versus germline?
- 00:20Germ line refers to the fact that there
- 00:23are certain genetic changes or mutations
- 00:25that are present from birth and present
- 00:28in almost every cell in our bodies,
- 00:30including the sperm and the egg cells,
- 00:32which is what we call germ line.
- 00:35So these are genetic mutations or
- 00:37changes that can be passed from parent
- 00:40to child and what we're looking for
- 00:42in this case is to look at jeans that
- 00:45we all have that normally provide our
- 00:47bodies with some protection against
- 00:48the development of certain cancers.
- 00:50Tell our bodies how.
- 00:52You know our sales should grow and
- 00:54divide and the normal controlled
- 00:56way overtime and what we're looking
- 00:58for is to see did someone inherit
- 01:00a change or misspelling a mutation
- 01:01that's harmful in one of those jeans
- 01:04that prevents it from providing that
- 01:06protection and so that person would
- 01:08be at increased risk for developing
- 01:09certain cancers over their lifetime.
- 01:11And so this testing is often done
- 01:13with a blood or saliva sample.
- 01:15It can be done on people that have
- 01:18had cancer,
- 01:18and people that have not had cancer
- 01:20and so that is the majority of what we.
- 01:23Work with and majority of what's
- 01:26talked about in these videos.
- 01:28Tumor testing now has become more
- 01:30common to look at.
- 01:31What is all of those genetic changes
- 01:34that have gone into the tumor an
- 01:36what's the kind of unique pattern are
- 01:39distinct pattern of the genetic changes
- 01:41in that tumor that may then make it
- 01:44more responsive to certain treatments.
- 01:46So we're mostly looking at those
- 01:48changes that went into the cancer
- 01:50developing that then maybe targetable
- 01:52in terms of certain treatments,
- 01:55or may tell us more about
- 01:57prognosis at the same time.
- 01:59Because those inherited or
- 02:00germline changes are present in
- 02:02virtually every cell in our body,
- 02:04we oftentimes also detect those
- 02:06in the tumor and sometimes
- 02:07when they do this testing,
- 02:09it's always on a sample of tumor.
- 02:11But sometimes they also have blood or
- 02:14saliva samples so they can compare
- 02:16the two to what's inherited and
- 02:18what just happened in the tumor.