Invitae (NYSE: NVTA), a leading medical genetics company, today announced the availability of Detect Hereditary Pancreatic Cancer, a testing program that offers no-charge genetic testing and counseling to patients with pancreatic cancer.
| SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Invitae (NYSE: NVTA), a leading medical genetics company, today announced the availability of Detect Hereditary Pancreatic Cancer, a testing program that offers no-charge genetic testing and counseling to patients with pancreatic cancer. Genetic testing is recommended by clinicians for all pancreatic cancer patients to guide treatment choices and evaluate eligibility for clinical trials.
“Genetic information can be particularly valuable for people with pancreatic cancer, even though many of them will be diagnosed with advanced disease. For these patients, having access to information about genetic changes may help identify precision therapies or a clinical trial opportunity,” said Robert Nussbaum, M.D., chief medical officer of Invitae. “We know that the risk for pancreatic cancer is elevated many-fold over the general population risk in people carrying pathogenic variants in genes associated with hereditary cancer syndromes, such as hereditary breast and ovarian cancer or Lynch syndrome, which means understanding a patient’s genetics is also important for their families. By adding pancreatic cancer to our Detect testing program we are hoping to make it easier for patients to receive the testing professional guidelines recommend.” More than 56,000 patients are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the U.S. each year and it is the 4th leading cause of death from cancer. Pancreatic cancer is linked to changes in genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 that are associated with other types of cancer such as breast and ovarian cancer and in genes associated with Lynch syndrome. Pancreatic cancer can be difficult to diagnose in its earlier stages and professional guidelines recommend genetic testing for all pancreatic cancer patients. The Invitae Detect programs provide no-charge testing and counseling to patients who meet eligibility criteria in specific clinical areas where genetic testing is underutilized. Through the programs, sponsors join to underwrite the cost of testing. In addition to Detect Hereditary Pancreatic Cancer, enrollment is now open for Detect programs in four other conditions: muscular dystrophy, prostate cancer, cardiomyopathy and arrhythmia and lysosomal storage diseases. Sponsors of Detect Hereditary Pancreatic Cancer will be announced as they join. In addition to testing, the Detect programs offer participants post-test genetic counseling to help them understand their test results and make more informed decisions about their health. Some programs also offer follow-up testing to family members of patients with genetic variants associated with disease to better understand their disease risks. Invitae’s network of sponsored, no-charge genetic testing programs, where the cost of testing is underwritten by sponsors, was created to address barriers to testing for patients who either do not or cannot rely on insurance coverage. Patients enroll in Invitae’s sponsored testing programs through their own clinician or access a network of independent telemedicine clinicians via Invitae’s website. Sponsors who sign-on to support the programs will receive de-identified information and contact information for clinicians who participate. No patient-identifiable information is shared. Participation in the programs is subject to the ordering clinician providing confirmation of patient notification and consent to sharing de-identified information. Additional details, terms and conditions of the programs can be found at Invitae sponsored testing programs. About Invitae Safe Harbor Statement Contact:
SOURCE Invitae Corporation | ||
Company Codes: NYSE:NVTA |
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