Fall Healthcare Professional Updates

Dear Voornaam,
Read below for important updates for our healthcare professional subscribers.

Say hello to the new FORCE

As the world of hereditary cancer evolves, so does FORCE! Our newly expanded mission now includes individuals and families who face hereditary breast, colorectal, endometrial, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancers that are caused by an inherited mutation in a BRCA, ATM, PALB2, CHEK2, PTEN or other gene, as well as those associated with Lynch syndrome. Now we will educate, support and inform on behalf of so many more people. We hope you will share FORCE's information with all your patients who can benefit from our community.
Visit our new website today

Live webinar on 11/20: Hereditary Prostate Cancer Treatment

November 20th at 6:00 pm Eastern time, medical oncologist, Heather Cheng, MD, PhD, will discuss the importance of identifying hereditary cancer risk mutations for prostate cancer. During this free webinar, Dr. Cheng will present on prostate cancer treatment and trials, as well as screening trials for men with hereditary prostate cancer.
Share with your patients today!

Do you have patients interested in volunteering?

FORCE is looking for passionate individuals who have the PTEN, NBN, TP53, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, EPCAM mutations and more to become Peer Navigators. If you have any patients who are interested in offering support over the phone, please have them fill out our volunteer application. Online VolunteerFORCE training is provided to obtain the knowledge and skills needed to effectively support others. Thanks for your help!
Apply today

Highlighted below are three continuing education opportunities, which address two important areas of unmet needs:

XRAY Videos!

We are excited to share our first two videos that accompany an XRAY review. We hope you find that these are helpful tools to share with your patients and that they will help explain complicated scientific information.

New imaging technology shows promise in detecting the spread of prostate cancer

An exciting new technology to detect the spread of recurrent or metastatic prostate cancer in high risk patients was presented at the ASCO 2020 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. Read our XRAY review on these two important clinical trials.
Read the review

New FORCE portal has resources for healthcare providers and researchers

If you are a healthcare provider or researcher with a focus on hereditary cancer, our new portal page has links to continuing education opportunities, information on public policy issues, resources to share with patients and tools to help you engage more patients in your research.

Help accelerate research by referring your patients to clinical trials

We are promoting studies recruiting HBOC patients. Please share the studies listed below with your patients and visit our Featured Research Page for a list of other important research studies enrolling people affected by hereditary cancer.

SOROCk

Women with a BRCA1 mutation ages 35-50 at risk for ovarian cancer are eligible for the SOROCk study. SOROCk will determine if removal of the fallopian tubes alone can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer nearly as much as removing both the ovaries and fallopian tubes. Preserving the ovaries will prevent surgically-induced menopause. The study will also examine quality of life.

Learn more

START

A researcher from the University of South Florida is seeking individuals to participate in a 60-minute, one-on-one, online interview to provide feedback on messages created to assist men in communicating about their hereditary cancer risk and making personal and family health decisions. Interview participants will also complete a brief 5-minute demographic survey. Participants must be males 18-years or older, have tested positive for either BRCA1/2 or have a family history of carrying a genetic variant, have not be diagnosed with hereditary cancer, and select English as their primary language. Participants will be provided with a $30 gift card. If you are interested in this research opportunity, please contact the Study Coordinator Ms. Lexi Ingle at [email protected].

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TALAPRO-2, A Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer Research Study

Living with advanced prostate cancer can feel overwhelming. TALAPRO-2 is a clinical trial investigating a potential treatment for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who have DNA damage repair (DDR) deficiency. To learn more, visit the TALAPRO-2 website.

Learn more

Denosumab and mammographic density in premenopausal women with dense breasts

This study is looking at the effect of denosumab on breast density of premenopausal women who have dense breasts. Denosumab is an FDA-approved medication for osteoporosis and to prevent fractures in cancer patients with bone metastases. This study could help identify new ways to prevent breast cancer in younger women.

Learn more about this study

Study for people with unexpected genetic results

Did you receive an unexpected genetic test result related to cancer risk? A new study is recruiting people who had genetic testing done for some other reason and received results related to their cancer risks. The goal of this study is to learn what people think about, and how they use results like this.

Learn more about this study

Connect My Variant

University of Washington researchers are studying ways to help people with genetic disease risk find and talk to family members that have the same genetic mutations. In this study, researchers will help families connect with each other, talk about genetics, and encourage other relative to get genetic testing. The study team hopes to act as partners to help you find and connect with your relatives. With your help we want to make it easier for people like you to find where familial variants came from and prevent disease in everyone with the same risk variant.

Learn more about this study

A study to evaluate Rucaparib in patients with solid tumors and with deleterious mutations in HRR genes (LODESTAR)

The LODESTAR study is evaluating the response of the PARP inhibitor rucaparib in people with advanced solid tumors (including breast, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate and other cancers) who have an inherited or acquired mutation in any of the following genes: BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, RAD51C, RAD51D, BARD1, BRIP1, FANCA, NBN, RAD51 or RAD51B.

Learn more about LODESTAR

PALB2 Study

The PALB2 Study is an international research study looking to recruit women with PALB2 mutations who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Research shows that PALB2 mutations increase the risk of developing breast cancer; however, it is not clear how to best treat or reduce the risk of breast cancer in women with PALB2 mutations. This research study collects information about breast cancer diagnosis and treatment using short questionnaires in order to learn more about breast cancer among women with a PALB2 mutation. This information will help to determine the best treatment for women with PALB2-associated breast cancer and determine which factors predict survival. Through a better understanding, we can personalize breast cancer treatment to increase survival and determine how to best manage at risk family members to detect cancer early or prevent it. For more information please email [email protected].

Ellie's Project

Do you have a genetic mutation increasing your risk of cancer? Help inform us how future research on lifestyle habits can better serve YOU! Take a 20-minutes survey to learn about nutrition and exercise in relationship to hereditary cancer mutations.

Take the survey

IMMray™ PanCan-d Test for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer in High-risk Groups

The Study of IMMray™ PanCan-d Test for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer in High-risk Groups is enrolling people who do not have pancreatic cancer, but have a higher risk of developing the disease.

Learn more

Pilot Study of Denosumab in BRCA1 or BRCA2 Mutation Carriers Scheduling Risk-Reducing Salpingo-Oophorectomy

Are you a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carrier scheduled to have your fallopian tubes and ovaries removed? Learn about an opportunity to enroll in a clinical trial looking at the effects of denosumab on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus (for women getting a hysterectomy) of women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. Denosumab is an FDA-approved injectable medication that is used to treat osteoporosis and to prevent fractures in cancer patients with bone metastases. The eventual goal is to understand if denosumab may be used to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer in women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

Learn more

GENERATE Study

The GENERATE (GENetic Education Risk Assessment and Testing) Study offers genetic testing for people who have a close relative with pancreatic cancer that was caused by a mutation in a gene. Knowing about inherited risk helps families protect themselves against pancreatic and other cancers. Visit the study website to learn more and fill out the Eligibility Questionnaire.

Learn more about GENERATE

Screening for Men at High Genetic Risk for Prostate Cancer

CALLING ALL MEN WITH A BRCA MUTATION, A LYNCH SYNDROME MUTATION or one of the other mutations listed below! The National Institutes of Health has a clinical trial for men at high genetic risk for prostate cancer. This is trial is for men without prostate cancer, ages 30 to 70, who have tested positive for Lynch syndrome (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2, EPCAM) or BRCA1, BRCA2, HOXB13, ATM, NBN, TP53, CHEK2, PALB2, RAD51D, FANCA. The trial involves screening MRI of the prostate every two years and biopsy of the prostate if the MRI is abnormal. There is no cost for travel or study-related tests.

Learn more about the study

A Study in Advanced Breast Cancer Patients With BRCA 1/2 Mutations Evaluating Olaparib Alone or In Combination With Atezolizumab

This is a study for women or men who have been diagnosed with advanced breast cancer with a BRCA 1/2 mutation. The goal of this study is to look at whether giving the DNA damage repair inhibitor (PARP inhibitor) olaparib (Lynparza) in combination with the immunotherapy atezolizumab (Tecentriq) improves outcomes for patients compared to olaparib alone.

Learn more about the study

CheckMate-9KD

CheckMate-9KD is a clinical research study for men with metastatic prostate cancer (which means cancer that has spread) that no longer responds to treatments that lower testosterone. Visit the link below to learn more about the study.

Learn more about CheckMate-9K

Metastatic Prostate Cancer Project

The Metastatic Prostate Cancer Project is a nationwide genomic research study for men with advanced and/or metastatic prostate cancer. Patients can join online and participate by sharing their medical information and samples. The goal of the project is to generate a comprehensive database that will be shared with the entire research community to accelerate discoveries in prostate cancer.

Learn more about the study

Did you know undergoing surgically or chemically induced menopause could put you at risk for cognitive difficulties? Our study seeks to determine the effectiveness of a stimulant drug called Vyvanse on the cognitive functioning of women who experience executive functioning difficulties following surgically induced menopause. For more information, please contact our team.

Learn more about IMPRES

The goal of this research study is to determine if online genetic education and testing with online telephone genetic counseling is an acceptable method of delivering genetic testing to men with metastatic prostate cancer.

This study involves undergoing genetic counseling and genetic testing for inherited cancer risk.

Learn more about the study

ATHENA is a study for women who are newly diagnosed with ovarian cancer. ATHENA is looking at whether maintenance therapy with a PARP inhibitor and/or immunotherapy improves outcomes for women who have completed front-line ovarian cancer treatment.

Learn more about ATHENA

The Genetic Education for Men (GEM) study, is a clinical trial evaluating educational tools for men from families in which a BRCA1/2 gene mutation has been identified. In order to identify untested men from BRCA1/2 families, we are seeking women who have received positive BRCA1/2 test results and have at least one untested male relative

Learn more about the GEM Study

ARIEL4 is a treatment study for women with relapsed, high-grade epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. ARIEL4 is designed to evaluate rucaparib against standard of care chemotherapy in women who have had at least two prior chemotherapy regimens. Visit the ARIEL4 Study page for more information.
More information on ARIEL4

The purpose of TRITON3 is to determine how patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, and an inherited BRCA1, BRCA2, or ATM gene mutation or tumor genetic deficiency respond to treatment with the PARP inhibitor rucaparib (Rubraca) compared to treatment with physician's choice of abiraterone acetate, enzalutamide, or docetaxel.

More information on TRITON3

The Metastatic Breast Cancer Project is a patient-partnered initiative that directly engages patients across the US & Canada to transform our understanding of metastatic breast cancer. Patients participate by sharing their medical information, tumor samples, and their voices. There is no cost to participate. A small effort can have a major impact.

Learn more about the study