Cancer Predisposition Clinic Aims to Change the Trajectory of Genetically Based Cancer

At least 10% of children with cancer harbor a disease-associated pathogenic variant in a known cancer predisposition gene. While few can be prevented, regular surveillance can, at the very least, find malignancies early when treatment is most effective.

That’s the idea behind Children’s of Alabama’s Cancer Predisposition Clinic, now in its third year.

“We provide comprehensive care and screening for these patients with the goal of detecting cancers at an early stage in order to provide the best care and outcomes for the patients,” said Elizabeth Alva, M.D., assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology. “It used to be there was nothing we could do about this terrible diagnosis,” she said. “Now we know there are definitely ways to look for cancers early and help patients.”

In addition, the clinic provides psychological support for families and determines if the genetic condition affects other family members.

Typically, primary care physicians follow children with cancer predispositions. But Alva provides another level of evidence-based surveillance that the pediatric offices may not be able to offer.

That’s why these clinics are a growing area in the pediatric hematology/oncology world, particularly at the larger children’s hospitals. “We felt that we definitely needed to provide that same level of care here in Alabama,” Alva said.

Alva and neuropsychologist Avi Madan-Swain, Ph.D., are currently following about 25 patients. Patients come to them through the Pediatric Cancer Genetics Clinic, where families are tested and counseled. Alva provides the screening, which ranges from regular ultrasounds to CT scans and MRIs, while Madan-Swain addresses the family’s psychological needs.

One benefit to the clinic is that if there is a cancer diagnosis, the child and family are already comfortable with the hospital and the clinical team.

Alva is building a database of patients to gain a better understanding of disease development and progression, while Madan-Swain plans research around the psychological impact on families that have a child with a predisposition syndrome.