Germline and somatic BRCA testing in metastatic prostate cancer
Approximately 10% of metastatic prostate cancer (mPC) patients have BRCA1/2 mutations. Testing both germline and somatic BRCA1/2 is key to maximize patient identification.
Our recent Lab Talk with Dr. Ming Zhou, explores the differences between germline and somatic BRCA mutations and their role in mPC. The session covered various assays for assessing biomarkers in mPC. Furthermore, Dr. Zhou delved into different testing strategies for germline and tumor BRCA1/2 to enhance patient identification for targeted therapies.
Watch the recording now!
The oncologists should consider the following recommendations for BRCA testing in mPC:
- BRCA1/2 mutations are associated with poorer prognosis and potentially benefit from PARP inhibitor therapy
- A tissue test should be performed to identify BRCA1/2 mutations at the time of diagnosis. When tissue testing is not possible, ctDNA testing should be performed.
- Always reflex to germline when positive tissue or positive ctDNA test (if not performed yet)
Access this Lab Talk to deep dive into these topics and learn more about the importance of germline and somatic testing in mPC.
Speaker name: Dr. Ming Zhou
Dr. Ming Zhou is the Pathologist-in-Chief and Chair of the Tufts Medical Center Department of Pathology, and Professor and Chair of the Department of Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA. He graduated summa cum laude from Fudan University Medical School in Shanghai, China. He completed his pathology residency training at the University of Michigan and a fellowship in Urological and Kidney Diseases at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He previously held faculty and administrative positions at Cleveland Clinic, New York University, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Dr. Zhou has devoted his clinical and research effort to diagnostic urological pathology, and the discovery and validation of tumor markers for urological malignancy. He has authored 196 peer-reviewed articles and numerous book chapters and co-authored 5 textbooks on urological and prostate pathology, including the AFIP prostate fascicle, and three of them in the 2nd edition. He frequently lectures at national and international meetings on urological pathology. He was the speaker at the California tumor tissue registry meeting in 2014 and 2022, and the co-course director of the prostate cancer long course at the 2018 USCAP annual meeting. He was a faculty of three USCAP short courses and five IM courses. He is currently a member of the USCAP Board of Directors, and the President of the Genitourinary Pathology Society (GUPS), an international organization for urological pathologists.