Dr. Leslie M. Randall on Early BRCA Testing in Ovarian Cancer

Leslie M. Randall, MD, associate professor of Gynecology/ Oncology, University of California Irvine, discusses the importance of early BRCA testing for patients with ovarian cancer.

Early BRCA testing is very important for several reasons, the most of which is identifying patients who have specific tumor biology, said Randall. Patients with BRCA mutations tend to be more platinum-sensitive than patients who don't have those mutations. They're also eligible for different clinical trials than patients who don't have those mutations.

In addition to that, identifying the patients who are BRCA mutated now, will help determine their treatment line for PARP inhibitor therapy later on, as well as identify those whose family members should be tested for genetic mutations.