Dr. Bobbie J. Rimel on Genetic Testing in Ovarian Cancer

Bobbie J. Rimel, MD, assistant professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, discusses discovering BRCA mutations early in ovarian cancer patients. Rimel says with the genetic information of knowing which patients harbor which genetic mutations, oncologists can offer their patients treatments such as PARP inhibitors, which are gene-specific.

Rimel says there are other options such as cascade testing, which is testing a member of someone's family once a genetic mutation and predisposition to ovarian cancer has been identified. She adds that panel testing is another option for patients, which includes looking at a wide variety of genes to see if a patient is more or less susceptible to developing ovarian cancer, and then taking the proper precautions.