Kara Maxwell, MD, PhD was invited as a discussant on research relating to germline genetic testing and whether it should be done for all lung cancer patients is probably a bit premature.

After Ashley Dedmon's mother passed away from metastatic breast cancer, she discovered the disease had impacted three generations of women in her family. Ashley shares her journey and how working with the Basser Center for the Black and BRCA Initiative has helped her spread awareness in educating younger generations.

Dana Clark, MS, Basser Center genetic counselor, spoke about the value of genetic testing in cancer prevention, while dispelling myths associated with access and cost. Her patient, Kimyatta, shares her story and strong hereditary link to the disease.

Susan Domchek, MD, Executive Director of the Basser Center, presented on a clinical trial assessing if a vaccine can prevent breast cancer patients with BRCA1/2 mutations from relapsing and prevent healthy people with mutations from developing cancer.

Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, Director of the Abramson Cancer Center, and team are studying immune responses to a vaccine with patients in remission from BRCA-related cancers. Next phase: 28 healthy people with BRCA mutations will receive the vaccine.

For Hispanic Heritage Month, ELLE Magazine spoke with Basser Center Executive Director Susan Domchek and Penn Medicine’s Dr. Carmen Guerra about the ways Basser and the Abramson Cancer Center are leading the charge to provide life-saving cancer screening tests for minority women—and Latinas in particular.

A new scholarship at the Perelman School of Medicine, funded by members of the Advisory Board of Penn Medicine's Basser Center for BRCA, paves the way for greater diversity in the field of genetic counseling.

A new study from Penn Medicine and the Basser Center finds Black and white women have the same gene mutations linked to breast cancer risk. The findings challenge past, smaller studies that found Black women face a greater genetic risk.

Basser Young Leadership Council co-founder Erika Stallings shares the story of her BRCA journey with Very Well Health.

A meta-analysis of nearly 200,000 men revealed 22 new genetic locations that could be susceptible to inherited testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) — a 40 percent increase in the number of regions known to be associated with the cancer. The multi-institutional meta-analysis was led by Basser Director of Genetics, Katherine L. Nathanson, MD.

Findings to be presented during a plenary session at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting show that a PARP inhibitor significantly reduced the risk that breast cancer would return when given to patients with the BRCA mutation. Basser Executive Director Susan Domchek, MD, serves as lead investigator of the Penn trial. 

Susan Domchek, MD, Basser Executive Director, was featured in a story about Latinas and BRCA mutations. Despite the high prevalence of the mutations, awareness of hereditary cancer risks and genetic testing is low among this group, limiting their options for early treatment, she said.