Finding a genetic cause for stomach cancer in a whānau now saves thousands of lives - WELLINGTON

Royal Society Te Apārangi in partnership with the Prime Minister’s Science Prizes Secretariat and the Wellington Branch is delighted to offer a talk by Professor Parry Guilford FRSNZ and Associate Professor Karyn Paringatai, both from Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka | University of Otago.

At the start of May they won the Prime Minister’s Science Prize which was awarded for an innovative partnership between members of the McLeod whānau and their community, cancer geneticists from the University of Otago, and clinicians from Tauranga Hospital. Together they identified a genetic mutation (in the CDH1 gene) which was causing members of the McLeod whānau to die from stomach cancer at a young age. This led to the naming and characterisation of a new cancer syndrome, Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer. The researchers developed a genetic test which gives whānau members the ability to understand their risk of cancer and take life-saving action.

Since then, the genetic test has enabled other families to discover that they also have a mutation in the CDH1 gene, and has saved many hundreds of lives in Aotearoa New Zealand and thousands around the world.

This a truly a remarkable story and this research continues to deliver impact.

All warmly welcome.