Moafaq Samir
Vol. 9, Jan-Jun 2020
Abstract:
About 10% to 15% of patients with ovarian cancer carry a mutation in a gene that promotes its development. These hereditary cancers occur at an earlier age than the average ovarian cancer, most often around the age of 50/55 years. In about half of these patients with a predisposing mutation for ovarian cancer, there is a family history of ovarian or breast cancer in a mother, grandmother, aunt or sister. This mutation is transmitted to children (one in two is at risk of being affected). Depending on the type of cancer the patient is suffering from, she is offered the standard treatment for this type of cancer. The reference treatment, as its name suggests, because it has been tried and tested and is therefore the reference for all patients affected by the disease in cause. The standard treatments used in cancer have been the subject of prior clinical trials. The patient may therefore be offered to participate in a clinical trial. Not all patients are affected by clinical trials and the proposal will be made on a case-by-case basis depending, for example, on the type of tumor, its size or any other criterion. Participation in a clinical trial allows the patient to benefit from the most innovative treatments while advancing medical research. If the patient wishes to inquire, or if the patient is offered to participate in a clinical trial, she can consult the register of open clinical trials.