Doctor: state-funded genetic testing available for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer risk
Professor Arvīds Irmejs urges women from age 25 to get genetic testing for inherited breast and ovarian cancer risk, noting it is available free of charge with a referral from a gynecologist. About 5% of breast cancer and up to 20% of ovarian cancer cases in Latvia are linked to genetic mutations.
Arvīds Irmejs, senior breast surgeon at Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital, explains that hereditary cancers such as breast and ovarian cancer can be passed down not only through the mother but also the father, who may carry the gene without ever developing the disease himself. As a result, many families remain unaware of their inherited risk.
According to Irmejs, roughly 5% of breast cancer patients and up to 20% of ovarian cancer patients each year have a diagnosis linked to known genetic mutations — in Latvia, that amounts to at least 60 breast cancer and 60 ovarian cancer cases annually. Ovarian cancer is considered especially dangerous because it is often detected late and is harder to treat.
Why family history can be misleading
Irmejs notes that in Latvia many families have become smaller due to divorce, emigration and immigration, leaving gaps in knowledge about hereditary illness. Additionally, when the gene is inherited through the male line, a family may have no history of male relatives falling ill, obscuring the actual risk.
Recommendation: testing from age 25
The professor recommends that all women aged 25 to at least 70 undergo BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene testing, regardless of known family history. Women found to carry a mutation but who remain healthy are enrolled in annual MRI screening, which can detect tumors just a few millimeters in size — smaller than ultrasound or mammography would catch. Some women also opt for risk-reducing surgery.
More than 1,000 women are currently registered in the hereditary cancer risk registry with identified BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. Irmejs believes the genetic test should be added to the national cancer screening program alongside mammography, testing around 10,000 women annually. Even now, any woman can undergo a basic genetic analysis free of charge with a referral from a gynecologist, while all breast and ovarian cancer patients automatically receive genetic testing as part of diagnosis and treatment.
