Surgical oncologist Dr. Diane M. Simeone urges genetic testing for all people with pancreatic cancer to customize treatment plans, as well as potentially prevent the disease.
Photo: Kristoffer Tripplaar / AtlanticLIVE
Should people with pancreatic cancer have genetic testing? Diane M. Simeone, MD, director of the Pancreatic Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, believes genetic testing can identify family members at risk of developing pancreatic cancer and help tailor treatments for people with the disease, as well as potentially prevent it. She spoke at AtlanticLIVE’s panel discussion on “The Importance of Early Detection in Cancer Diagnoses.”
“At least 15 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer have a susceptibility gene, even if they don’t have a family history that would point to that,” says Dr. Simeone, the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery. “It affects their own care because sometimes we give patients therapies based on what that test shows, but it also helps us identify family members who are also at risk, with the big move towards early detection.”
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