Overview
The mission of the Cancer Genetics Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute is to provide expert clinical consultation in cancer genetics, to develop a cohort of patients and families with hereditary cancer for a variety of research studies, and to provide training and continuing medical education to medical professionals. The Cancer Genetics Program is a joint effort of UPCI and Magee-Womens Hospital and is by nature highly multidisciplinary. Collaborative research has been established with the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program, Behavioral Medicine Oncology Program, Head and Neck Cancer Program, GI Cancer Program, UPMC Department of Radiology, Magee-Womens Research Institute, and the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.
The clinical volume is currently more than 300 patient visits per year, making the Cancer Genetics Program one of the busiest services in the country. This has positioned the program to enter national cohort studies such as the BRCA1 and BRCA2 cohort of Steven Narod, MD, FRCPC, Professor of Preventative Medicine, School of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. The clinical volume has sustained UPCI investigations such as an NIH-R01 on Stress, Mental Health, and Genetic Risk Identification led by Andrew Baum, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology, that accrued about 100 subjects into the study.