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OMRF gives employees cancer test
Penny Voss does not have a family history of breast cancer but still wondered if she might be at risk.
Genetics counselor Melissa Craft, left, instructs Penny Voss on how to leave a sample to test her odds of developing breast cancer. PHOTO BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN
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So when her employer offered a new test that can predict a woman’s odds of getting breast cancer, she didn’t hesitate to sign up.
The OncoVue test, which normally costs about $400, was offered to Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation employees and spouses for $20. About 150 signed up for the test, which takes saliva samples to test DNA.
"I’m interested in hearing the results,” said Voss, who also met with a genetics counselor so she’d know how to interpret and respond to the findings.
OMRF researchers helped develop OncoVue, which is marketed by Oklahoma City company InterGenetics to physician clinics in 24 states.
Melissa Craft, a genetics counselor for Breast Imaging of Oklahoma, said the test is most appropriate for those who don’t have known risk factors for breast cancer, which account for about 80 percent of new cases.
The test will not diagnose breast cancer but could tell a woman if she is genetically more likely to get the disease.
Dr. Stephen Prescott, president of OMRF, said his organization subsidized the employee tests for several reasons.
"First, we wanted to give them an opportunity to take advantage of a technology they helped create, either in the lab or as volunteers,” he said.
More information is at www.intergenetics.com.
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