News
The Swiss CASCADE, the Korean K-CASCADE and the Israeli iCascade have cumulatively have enrolled 647 index cases and 201 relatives.
On May 31st 2022 the Consortium presented a workshop at 5th ELSI Congress: ELSIcon2022: Innovating for a Just and Equitable Future. The Congress is organized by Columbia University, Stanford University, and the National Human Genome Research Institute in the US. The workshop was organized in collaboration with the K-CASCADE team in Korea and the iCascade team in Israel, and examined ethical and legal challenges posed by the implementation of cascade genetic screening in the three countries. The presentation was titled: “Privacy and utility of genetic testing for families with hereditary cancers living in three countries: The International Cascade Genetic Screening Experience”.
The workshop explored issues around access to genetic services, where subtle differences in the legal framework and the organization of the healthcare system in the three countries may place segments of the population at a disadvantage. Reasons for having genetic testing were almost identical for Swiss and Korean participants to the CASCADE study and most referrals were provided from specialists. Most individuals with a pathogenic variant preferred to maintain an active role in discussing genetic testing results with relatives, however, some differences were observed between the Swiss and the Korean participants.
Lottery
We greatly appreciate your participation in the CASCADE study. As a token of our appreciation, every January we randomly selected one participating code to receive a 300 CHF Manor voucher. The lucky participant selected for January 2022 lives in the region of Geneva. Congratulations!
Project status
To date, 607 individuals have participated in the study, 471 women and 136 men. Almost all have agreed (95%) to be part of the cohort and will be contacted again within the next 5 years.
Currently recruitment takes place in the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Ticino, and Winterthur. The mailing of the second survey was launched in March 2020 and continues until today to participants who have been in the cohort for at least 18 months. The mailing of the second survey will begin in early spring 2023 for participants who have been in the cohort for at least 36 months.
Individual interviews or focus groups have taken place with 77 individuals who have shared their experiences with us. Additional interviews or focus groups are planned in 2023, where we will explore additional topics regarding decisions for risk management and medical surveillance. We hope that you will be interested to participate in this part of the study.
» More information about the study
New project
We create a new website for families with a genetic predisposition to cancer with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation. The website will provide information about cancer genetics and risk management, decision support, and communication of genetic test results among families. In a few months we will be requesting your input, and we will ask you whether you like the information we present and the layout of the website. We want to thank you in advance for your participation.
Workshop
The CASCADE consortium organized a workshop with international experts to discuss the challenges of Cascade Genetic Screening in Switzerland. The workshop report describes the main findings of the workshop leading the CASCADE study.
The workshop report describes the main findings of the workshop leading the CASCADE study.
Study Protocol
The Protocol Paper describes the methodological approach of the CASCADE study and ensures transparency and scientific integrity. In addition, this article draws the scientific community’s attention to our research activities. We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of our research partners to the scientific development of the CASCADE study.