Would You Have Your DNA Tested?

[Daysleeper40]

For any ladies that read this thread in the future who are likely to undergo chemotherapy: if you have concerns about fertility afterward, consider having eggs collected and frozen through an IVF/Fertility clinic.

Or even better - embryos. Sadly it's not always possible to fit it in before treatment or it is not funded. Some oncologists advise against it for oestrogen positive breast cancer too.

 

[POAH]

that's why I chose not to be tested for TP53.

P53 as far as I'm aware only causes cancer when it is damaged not through effects of polymorphisms. there may be risks but from what I've read you can have an increased risk, you can have a decreased risk or no change in risk at all depending on the study. its not the same as same as the breast cancer genes.

 

[ancient_mariner]

Or even better - embryos. Sadly it's not always possible to fit it in before treatment or it is not funded. Some oncologists advise against it for oestrogen positive breast cancer too.

Hi Fi, the fertility specialist we used to work with recommended eggs rather than embryos, although I believe she was the first person in the UK to successfully manage frozen embryo transfer. Technology is always advancing, but embryos used to have a lower success rate. I haven't kept up with progress in that area for the last 5 years.

 

[Mikesphotaes]

Rushing one's life, never a good idea!

 

[Daysleeper40]

P53 as far as I'm aware only causes cancer when it is damaged not through effects of polymorphisms. there may be risks but from what I've read you can have an increased risk, you can have a decreased risk or no change in risk at all depending on the study. its not the same as same as the breast cancer genes.

To be honest I could only go on what the geneticist explained to me - and my understanding was if I were found to have an increased risk due to P53 it would not offer me a lot more in terms of preventative measures and that's what I based my decision on - I didn't really question it any further.

Hi Fi, the fertility specialist we used to work with recommended eggs rather than embryos, although I believe she was the first person in the UK to successfully manage frozen embryo transfer. Technology is always advancing, but embryos used to have a lower success rate. I haven't kept up with progress in that area for the last 5 years.

Hi Toni, That's interesting, the advice I was given was that embryos have a higher success rate - although that may be in terms of successful freezing/thawing plus transfer, rather than just the transfer success rate? Consultant was very clear on it being the 'better' option though. Of course some ladies may not have a partner at the time of their treatment, so freezing embryos would not be on the cards anyway unless you were willing to use a donor.

 

[KayJay]

Do you believe women that get preventative mastectomies are gullible, paranoid hypochondriacs?
According to Angelina Jolie "My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman." Information obtained from having her DNA mapped.

The UK Government think this kind of service is of such value that they are spending 100 million pounds on having the DNA of over 100,000 mapped; The aim is to give doctors a better understanding of patients' genetic make-up, condition and treatment needs, and help develop new cancer treatments.

It's all too easy to trash these news services. But there is science behind it. Yes, it's a commercial business. But then so is healthcare.

If you want to know or have health concerns most people go to the doctor.

 

[ancient_mariner]

Hi Toni, That's interesting, the advice I was given was that embryos have a higher success rate - although that may be in terms of successful freezing/thawing plus transfer, rather than just the transfer success rate? Consultant was very clear on it being the 'better' option though. Of course some ladies may not have a partner at the time of their treatment, so freezing embryos would not be on the cards anyway unless you were willing to use a donor.

Opinions in this field, as with many others, have been deeply divided at times over what works and how things should be done. There often hidden commercial drivers too, though I'm not saying that either opinion in this case has been affected by commercial values. We are still finding out so much about how the reproductive system works, and also what factors vary across different individuals withing and between racial origins. I was at a conference in Lille last year where one of the key fertility markers (AMH/MIS) was debated whether measurement had a use for predicting ovarian reserve. Both sides argued with data and opinion leaders to support each POV, and neither side won, probably because the picture was a lot more complex than simply measuring just a single form of the molecule.

IMO the best thing is likely to go somewhere that offers the opportunity to do *something* to preserve fertility, rather than just take the chemo and hope viable eggs survive. From an ethics POV egg collection would be better, because you're not having to destroy embryos later on, and theoretically they could even be donated to a woman whose eggs were not viable if they were not required (I believe egg donors are still sought after).