Prostate Cancer Genetics Podcast Series Features Medical Oncologists, Genetic Counselors and a Patient

In this video, Stacy Loeb, MD, M.Sc., and Veda Giri, MD, describe the content of a new podcast series that offers information on genetic testing for prostate cancer. An article detailing welcoming patients to podcasts was recently published in Prostate cancer and prostate diseases (https://rdcu.be/c3UEl), and new episodes of the podcast will be released on Tuesdays (https://open.spotify.com/show/4FYxW2zUgJmW8wkVbiOXBb?si=dca177dda31443f6).

Giri is Division Chief of Clinical Cancer Genetics for Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer and Deputy Director of Clinical Cancer Genetics for Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, Connecticut. Loeb is a professor in the departments of urology and population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York City, New York.

Transcription:

Loeb: So far there are 6 episodes. Of them [feature] medical oncologists talk about the impact of genetics on the precise management of prostate cancer and how it is linked to familial syndromes like hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome and Lynch syndrome. There are 2 episodes with genetic counselors. These are very interesting because they talk about what happens in genetic counseling sessions, what the different types of genetic testing are, and in particular, what is different about direct-to-consumer testing that people can do at home like 23andme versus the tests that would be ordered in a clinical setting for cancer genetics. Finally there are 2 which are personal stories with a patient and his son to talk about their experience through the process, what it was like to get the counseling and the test and what they felt when they discovered they were BRCA2 carriers and the impact it has had on their lives. So I think this is a nice bunch of podcasts that really approach this from different angles, from the personal to the practical details and the clinical implications.

Giri: Yeah, and I think the personal stories of the patient and his son are very powerful, and I think they bring an important angle to this area, which is when we do genetic testing for men in the context of prostate cancer, we can discover information like in BRCA1 or BRCA2, [which are] classically thought of as genetic mutations associated with breast and ovarian cancer risk in women, but how important it is for men to think about this too and think about family history of cancers in general, regardless of gender [and] through the generations. These things were really highlighted in the patient stories.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.