Bobbie J. Rimel, MD, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses the importance of testing patients with ovarian cancer for homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) or homologous recombination proficiency (HRP), and 

It is important to test and identify patients with

mutations in order to determine which type of therapy they are eligible for, as well as if cascade testing is needed, Rimel states. This offers patients’ family members the ability to also be tested for cancer screening prevention.

Additionally, HRD testing is valuable for understanding a patient's magnitude of benefit with maintenance PARP inhibitors, Rimel continues. Patients who are HRD have different projected progression-free survival outcomes than those who are HRP, Rimel adds. Accordingly, knowing their HRD status can better inform and guide patients' treatment decisions, Rimel concludes.

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Bobbie J. Rimel, MD, discusses the importance of testing patients with ovarian cancer for homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) or homologous recombination proficiency (HRP), and BRCA mutation status.

Dr. Rimel on the Importance of BRCA and HRD 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.

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.


Bobbie J. Rimel, MD

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Dr. Rimel on the Importance of BRCA and HRD Testing in Ovarian Cancer

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