The Susan-Levi Gartner Oncogenetics Unit
Director: Dr. Rinat Bernstein Molho
Lab Director: Yael Laitman
Contact:
To book an appointment for Oncogenetics, please call: 03-5305000
Phone: 03-5303947
Fax: 03-5303197
Email: oncogenetics@sheba.gov.il
To schedule an appointment, please send an email or fax with the following details: First name, last name, ID number, phone number, and reason for referral. Please attach any previous summaries, if available. Form 17 is required for genetics consultation.
Clinic Hours:
Sunday to Thursday
Location:
Women and Maternity Building, Genetic Institute. Floors 1-2
For the first meeting, please bring any previous test results, any relevant medical records of family members, and any other medical information that might be useful
The Oncogenetics Unit offers genetic counselling to cancer patients and their family members with a hereditary cancer risk. Our team comprises genetic counselors, lab staff, and research coordinators, working closely with doctors from different units like the cancer centre, gynecologic oncology service, paediatric onco-haematology, gastro institute, and endocrinology institute.
During the counseling session, we discuss personal/family cancer history and other health issues. We assess the risk of inherited factors that may raise cancer risk, and talk about prevention, early detection, and investigation. Based on the genetic evaluation, we suggest appropriate genetic testing to detect mutations. The test involves a blood or saliva sample (genetic material collected from white blood cells; please ensure normal white blood cell count especially after chemotherapy). Testing a cancer patient raises the chances of detecting mutations. Otherwise, a healthy family member can undergo the test.
Additional tests not included in the health basket can be done privately or partially funded by supplementary insurance funds. After the tests, recommendations for further investigation will be provided as needed and/or followed up.
Genetic testing may also hold therapeutic implications. There are now unique oncology treatments available for individuals carrying mutations in specific genes. For instance, medications classified as "PARP inhibitors" are administered to women with mutations in the BRCA1/2 genes who are diagnosed with ovarian or breast cancer. These medications have also demonstrated efficacy in patients with pancreatic and prostate cancer and mutations in these genes. Other experimental medications might be appropriate for patients with a history of other hereditary cancer syndromes.
If you've had counselling and tests in the past with negative results, could there be other things to check?
Sometimes, people undergo genetic testing and receive an answer that no mutation was found, and the cancer is not hereditary. However, most of the tests conducted in the past through health funds or as part of a study were only partial, checking common changes in the population. A normal result in such a test (assuming there's no known mutation in the family) doesn't rule out rare gene changes in the tested gene or others not examined.
From 2012, the health basket included new genetic tests. By the end of 2020, even more comprehensive tests were added, offering more people the chance to be tested. If a family member had a test over 5 years ago, one can revisit genetic counseling and get more tests under health coverage or choose more advanced tests privately at a much lower cost than before.
