2/10/04

Cancer conference

A recent cancer conference in Springfield provided new information on cancer genetics that will help patients and families.

New ways of identifying and treating cancer through genetics were explored at a cancer conference in Springfield sponsored by SIU School of Medicine. Dr. Thomas Robbins, interim director of the SIU Cancer Institute explains the conference.

SOUND BITE: "This is a conference that really focuses on a unique aspect of cancer care and that is linking the new knowledge that we have acquired in the past 5 or 10 years about the genetics of cells and how genetic abnormalities can correlate and help us identify patients who are at increased risk for getting certain cancers."

Physicians with various cancer specialties came from around the country to share their expertise with Illinois physicians who attended the conference. Robbins says the information shared will not only help an individual who is developing cancer, but will benefit the entire family - other family members who might be at risk for the disease.

SOUND BITE: ". . .we know specifically that some patients with breast cancer have genetic abnormalities and these can be very easily measured in the blood. And so if a particular patient or individual has these abnormal genes, then their risk of cancer increases exponentially, very high, and so it behooves us to screen for those patients."

Other cancers that can be the focus of genetic screening include colorectal and prostate cancers. Examples of new technology include imaging screenings of the chest which allow physicians to identify patients with lung cancer at an earlier stage. Talk to your primary care physician about what evaluations and screenings might be appropriate for you.