INTERVIEW
that a daily dose of aspirin can substantially reduce the likelihood of developing colon cancer . Then there is surgery , a drastic choice - such as the headline-grabbing story of Angelina Jolie who as a BRCA1 carrier underwent a double mastectomy and had her ovaries removed - but one that is increasingly becoming part of the recommendations by US doctors for certain high-risk patients .
In terms of early detection , “ it ’ s all about screening ,” according to Laraki . “ One thing we ’ re seeing is that almost independent of risk level , the genetics and the awareness you bring to people has a big effect on getting people to comply with their screening guidelines .” He explains that for men in
“ Just moving the cancer diagnosis up a stage , from four to three , three to two and so on , you double the survival rate and take out 50 % of the cost ”
OTHMAN LARAKI Co-founder and CEO of Color their 50s , only 30 % will get screened , however , if they ’ re aware they are Lynch syndrome carriers for example , which increases the risk of stomach cancer , this figure rises to 90 %.
The third part is treatment . “ If someone has a mutation it has a big effect on how they are treated ,” says Laraki . “ We just announced a study we ’ re doing with Fred Hutchinson University in Washington , where we ’ re testing all metastatic prostate cancer patients in the entire state , because if you have prostate cancer and you have a BRCA2 mutation the type of therapy you should be getting is different , and that has a big impact on outcomes .”
The company Getting access to genetic information has traditionally been very expensive , however , since Color launched its BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests for $ 100 in October 2017 they ’ ve proven to be very popular . Over time the company is planning to expand testing to other forms of cancer as well as other health areas .
The big motivator , as Laraki explains , is to focus on prevention and early detection . “ If you look
10 February 2018