Over the last decade, breast cancer awareness has bloomed in Asia. That, in part, is thanks to Dr. Ava Kwong, who is responsible for the annual charitable Pink Ball and Race in Pink Heels. As founder and Chairman of The Hong Kong Hereditary Breast Cancer Family Register, she now takes the reins on a ground-breaking new project which could affect many lives.

Women and men with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes develop hereditary cancer if either of those genes undergoes a harmful mutation. Dr. Kwong’s research project focuses on developing a test to identify founder (a specific class of mutation that is linked to disease) gene mutations in BRCA genes. This marks a revolutionary milestone in the fight against breast cancer.

So, could we be closer to a cure for cancer than we think? Kwong speaks to us about how her new research project may change the way we approach breast cancer.

 

HongKongTatler.com: What medical breakthroughs have you made with the Hong Kong Hereditary Breast Cancer Family Registry? Ava Kwong: We discovered that a lot of Asian women with breast and ovarian cancer are younger than Caucasian women. We have identified 4 founder mutations in Chinese breast and ovarian cancer patients (both male and females) We’re now in the process of developing a quick cheap founder BRCA mutations screen for Chinese breast and ovarian cancer patients  to see if they might be at high risk for cancer based on their genetics. High risk means an 80% chance of getting breast cancer and 50% of getting ovarian cancer. It really helps because if you identify breast cancer at a very early stage, it’s 99% curable. What’s great about this charity and its research is that it’s helping underprivileged people who may not be able to afford expensive medical care.

There’s also the misconception that everyone in the same family has the same level of risk for breast and ovarian cancer and that if someone has had the cancer you’ll be at high risk. That’s not true at all. Getting tested means that you also could find out that you’re not carrying the high risk.

 

HKT: What progress have you made?
AK: This project’s findings have already been published in various international journals. We would like to set up a research test panel for Hong Kong women first of all. Then we’ll see if these BRCA founder mutation screenings work for women in China and even in women in California and other parts of the world – many Chinese women have migrated abroad.

 

HKT: How do you help women who are in the high-risk group?
AK: We identify a high-risk group and once we identify them we can change their prognosis entirely. We talk to these high risk individuals about intensive screening and preventative options. In some cases, we recommend removing the ovaries at forty because it then decreases the risk of both ovarian and breast cancer and improve survival– production of female hormones goes down.

 

HKT: What about removing the breast entirely?
AK: If someone has had breast cancer on one side and finds out that they have the BRCA mutation, we do discuss this option with them. Nowadays, we can remove the breast tissue but preserve the nipple and areola complex. and skin envelope. Then a better, more natural-looking surgical reconstruction can be performed in the future. That’s another great thing about an early diagnosis; cosmetically it can look much better.

 

HKT: What are you taking on in the next year with the Registry?
AK: Over the past few years we’ve focused on breast cancer because I’m a breast cancer specialist. This year we added in a lot more information about ovarian cancer and prostate cancer. Ovarian cancer presents itself very late and most women don’t realise they have it. They just think they’re gaining weight and the symptoms don’t appear until very late.

We’re also going to raise more funds for our psychosocial and counselling support programmes. At the registry we focus on the future, patients are getting younger and apart from treating their cancer we need to look after their general well being including fertility issues. There are many more options to regain a normal life after cancer nowadays.  

 

For more information about The Hong Kong Hereditary Breast Cancer Family Registry visit www.asiabreastregsitry.com