Professor Jonathan Ledermann delivers Chai’s Online 2022 Annual Natalie Shipman Memorial Lecture

‘How BRCA Gene Mutations are Spearheading Ovarian Cancer Treatment’ was the fascinating topic of Chai’s 32^st annual Natalie Shipman Memorial Lecture.

Almost 200 people tuned in to listen to Keynote Speaker, Professor Jonathan Ledermann MD FRCP FMedSci, Professor of Medical Oncology, Clinical Director, UCL Cancer Institute.

Natalie z’l, daughter of Susan Shipman, Chai’s founder president, was one of the catalysts that inspired Chai’s inception over thirty-two years ago. She was diagnosed with cancer when she was two years old and sadly passed away from a brain tumour just before her eighth birthday.

Chai Chairman, Louise Hager welcomed guests and gave an update on what has been happening at Chai during the past year. She explained: “we are back and fully operational in all our centres which has given our clients tremendous pleasure. We have managed to learn and some of the positives from Covid include our groups. Traditionally, groups were held in person, now, clients can choose to join online from all over the UK and abroad which brings much support to many. In the past year, we have had just over 950 new clients needing to turn to Chai.”

Dr Adrian Tookman – Chairman of Chai’s Medical Advisory Panel who before introducing Professor Ledermann spoke about the joy and pleasure of being a part of Chai and explained that one of their great advantages was having “expert medical oversight.” He continued by explaining how wonderful it was to work with leaders in the field who can deliver these lectures including Professor Daniel Hochhauser who last year spoke about Individualised Cancer Treatment- Hype or Reality.

Professor Ledermann, who has been involved with Chai from its very early years began by explaining the two most important cancers associated with BRCA related risk are breast and ovarian. In the presence of a BRCA gene mutation, the risk of breast or ovarian cancers increases substantially. He noted that other cancers such as pancreatic or prostate are also more commonly associated with BRCA mutations.

He continued by explaining that in the wider population, BRCA mutations are present in approximately 1 in 400 people however amongst the Ashkenazi population, 1 in 40 (about 2%) have a BRCA mutation.

Professor Ledermann said: BRCA mutations have really opened up a completely new area of ovarian cancer treatment. They’ve taught us a lot about the biology of ovarian cancer and are teaching us about how important it is to target DNA repair and how crucial that is in terms of getting on top of tumour growth. The focus of his lecture was to describe how a class of drugs called PARP inhibitors have been developed to target ovarian tumours with a BRCA mutation. Studying the action of these drugs has greatly expanded knowledge about how to target tumour cells opening the way for newer therapies. There have been significant improvements in the treatment of women with BRCA mutations using PARP inhibitors. Knowledge about the biology of BRCA and PARP inhibitors has led to their use in some women without BRCA mutations. Some of these women also benefit from PARP inhibitor therapy, and these drugs are now commonly used in the treatment of ovarian cancer. He presented the very recent and encouraging results of clinical trials but emphasised that more research is needed to understand why PARP inhibitors work less well in some women. In summary, he said there is little doubt that the introduction of PARP inhibitors has had a big impact on the lives of women with ovarian cancer.

The lecture, which was followed by a Q&A, was a great success with lots of positive feedback. As one participant put it: “Thank you for the opportunity to watch this really encouraging and interesting lecture. It was engaging and gives hope for the future.”

To watch the lecture, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go-MrjlK0Rk&t=3s