Our latest Lunch and Learn online webinar was on ‘Relevance of HRR Alteration in Prostate Cancer: From Prognosis to Treatment’ on Wednesday 17th April, 1.00pm – 2.00pm, with Dr Pasquale Rescigno, Senior Clinical Lecturer at Newcastle University.
Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) results in both normal and tumour cells being unable to repair double strand breaks (DSBs) that occur within the DNA. Several proteins are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the genome – from recognising DNA damage to the joining of disrupted edges.
In prostate cancer, up to a third of advanced patients harbour HRD, with the most common alterations being in BRCA1/2. In almost half of cases, these alterations are of germline origin, meaning that there are implications for the wider family.
The predictive role of mutations affecting HRD genes has been investigated in several clinical trials with PARP inhibitors in metastatic prostate cancer patients. However, genomic sequencing to ascertain the presence of such mutations is still an issue due to pre- and post- analytic reasons.
In this webinar, we discussed the clinical relevance of HR alterations, with a focus on the clinical, diagnostic and familiar impact of BRCA1/2 alterations.
The webinar was presented by Dr Pasquale Rescigno, Senior Clinical Lecturer at Newcastle University and Senior Researcher at Candiolo Cancer Institute, Turin.