Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Service in Sparsely Populated Western Pomerania

Abstract

The German Consortium Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (GC-HBOC) consists of 23 academic centers striving to provide high-quality regional care for affected individuals and healthy at-risk family members. According to the standard operating procedures defined by the GC-HBOC, a Familial Breast and Ovarian Cancer Center was implemented at the University Medicine Greifswald over a four-year period from 2018 to 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Genetic analyses were performed in a total of 658 individuals, including 41 males, which paved the way to local annual risk-adapted breast cancer surveillance for 91 women and prophylactic surgery for 34 women in 2021. Our experience in the North Eastern part of Germany demonstrates that it is possible to establish a high-risk breast and ovarian cancer service even in a sparsely populated region. Major facilitators are the interdisciplinary collaboration of dedicated local experts, the support of the GC-HBOC, fruitful clinical and scientific cooperations and the use of technical improvements. As a blueprint, our project report may help to further expand the network of specialized and knowledge-generating care for HBOC families.