Dr. Lees on the Utility of Genetic Testing in Ovarian Cancer

Brittany F. Lees, MD, gynecologic oncologist, Atrium health, discusses the utility of genetic and genomic testing in ovarian cancer.

In ovarian cancer, genetic testing can be used to identify patients with BRCA mutations or other homologous recombination deficiencies, says Lees. When such alterations are identified, patients are eligible to receive PARP inhibitors, which have garnered a significant amount of excitement in the space. Notably, PARP inhibitors have been a welcome addition to the ovarian cancer treatment paradigm and offer clinical benefit to patients, Lees says.

In addition, tumor testing plays an important role in the field. If a patient’s tumor harbors these homologous recombination deficiencies, but their germline testing doesn’t show the same alterations, the patient is still eligible to receive PARP inhibitors, Lees concludes.