A pioneering scheme just begun on the Island could place Bermuda at the forefront of medical research to identify and treat people who have inherited cancer-causing genes through their family line.

If successful, the benefits from unlocking the knowledge by carrying out research in Bermuda will not only give potentially life-saving treatment to many women at high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer here, but would become a medical breakthrough beacon fanning out to the rest of the world.

Other cancers and conditions passed on through family genes, such as the skin cancer melanoma, colon cancer and diabetes, could be tracked and treated using similar methods as those now being deployed in Bermuda. This is the inspiring vision of a leading US cancer doctor intent on tracking all the women on the Island at high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

By doing so, Dr. Kevin Hughes believes it will provide a key to unlocking ways of tracking other hereditary cancers. The breast cancer specialist from Massachusetts General Hospital is leading the initiative in Bermuda by holding quarterly medical clinics aimed at identifying women on the Island who are most at risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer.

Bermuda?s small geographical size, its centralised medical records and its highly stable population give it a uniqueness that makes it possible to undertake comprehensive patient and family tracking to identify all potential carriers of hereditary mutation genes.

The first of what should become quarterly clinics on the Island held by Dr. Hughes was conducted last week with nine women suspected of potentially carrying cancer-causing hereditary gene mutations being seen.

Of those nine, eight were assessed as not high-risk while one was placed in the high-risk category and efforts will now be made to contact all members of her family to give them the option of genetic testing to see if they might be carrying the potentially cancer-causing hereditary genes.

Those who are identified with the rogue genes will benefit from having cancer spotted at an earlier and more treatable stage and the opportunity to take measures designed to prevent cancer occurring.

Although primarily concerned with putting his theory into practice and assisting the high cancer risk women of Bermuda, Dr. Hughes sees long-term possibilities that may spin off from the Bermuda initiative.

?The important thing is this is really a test case for all hereditary diseases and if we can find a way to do this and pull this off for breast and ovarian cancer we can do the same thing for hereditary colon cancer, and the same thing for hereditary melanoma and eventually do the same thing for hereditary diabetes,? said Dr. Hughes.

?Because all of them are based on that family history being the screen to bring in people for testing for these diseases so this could be extremely powerful for all different modes of health care. But we want to test breast/ovarian cancer first, to make sure this is truly going to work in the way expected.

?The medical system world-wide has already determined that finding high risk women is good and not finding them is bad, and here we are actually proving that we can find them and manage them in the way we are supposed to.?

In today?s Dr. Hughes gives a full explanation of the initiative and his hopes for Bermuda and beyond.