Triple Negative Breast Cancer Risk Genes Identified by Multigene Hereditary Cancer Panel Testing with Fergus Couch, PhD

In this webinar, Dr. Couch will present results from a recent study of multigene hereditary cancer panel testing in >10,000 women with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), focusing on the prevalence of cancer gene mutations among TNBC cases along with gene-specific associations with TNBC among Caucasians and African Americans. Clinical implications of these findings will also be discussed.

Fergus J. Couch, PhD | Presenter

Dr. Couch is a Professor and Chair of the Division of Experimental Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, with a joint appointment in the Department of Health Sciences Research. The research in his laboratory is focused on characterization of genes and variants involved in susceptibility to breast and pancreatic cancer using genetic, genetic epidemiology, and functional approaches. Dr. Couch is a founder and leader of several national and international consortia in cancer genetics. In particular, he formed the Evidence-based Network for the Interpretation of Germline Mutant Alleles (ENIGMA) consortium that focuses on determining the clinical relevance of inherited variants in the BRCA1, BRCA2, and other cancer predisposition genes. He is a co-founder of the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA), a Triple Negative Breast Cancer Consortium (TNBCC), and is a long-term member of the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Working with members of these consortia, Dr. Couch has led genome-wide association studies to identify common genetic variants that influence risk of estrogen receptor (ER) negative and triple negative breast cancer and modify risks of breast cancer among carriers of germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. He is also a leader in the Global Alliance for Genomic Health BRCA Challenge and the Prospective Registry of Multiplex Testing (PROMPT) initiatives that are aimed at understanding alterations in cancer predisposition genes. Dr. Couch is also a principal investigator of the Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Patient Registry (MCBCS), a long term follow up study of all newly diagnosed breast cancer patients attending the Mayo Clinic, and is a member of the Mayo Clinic Breast and Pancreatic SPORE grants. Dr. Couch has published 450 peer reviewed articles. In 2013 Dr. Couch received the Mayo Clinic Investigator of the Year award, and in 2016 was named the AACR Outstanding Investigator for Breast Cancer Research.

Holly LaDuca, MS, CGC | Moderator

Ms. LaDuca received her M.S. in Genetic Counseling from Northwestern University. In her current role as Manager of Clinical Research, Ms. LaDuca oversees clinical data curation efforts and works closely with other Ambry departments and collaborators in application and interpretation of genotype-phenotype data ascertained through clinical genetic testing. Her current research interests include further characterizing phenotypic spectra for known cancer predisposition genes to aid in genetic risk assessment and counseling. Prior to joining Ambry over six years ago, Ms. LaDuca was a clinical cancer genetic counselor.