Holly Hosking

Cancer susceptibility is currently determined through analysis of lifestyle factors and genetics. However genetic testing is only able to provide broad indications of cancer risk and does not predict probable cancer type or age of onset. Our test however, aims to develop a cell based technique to determine cancer susceptibility in cancer families through analysis of the effectiveness of DNA double strand break repair after damage.

A new predictive tool is needed to assist in screening for familial cancer risk. Research has already proven the relationship between DNA damage repair defects and familial cancer, thus I believe that developing a screening tool which assesses the effectiveness of how a cell responds to lab inflected damage and its ability to repair itself would be a novel solution. The test would not rely on expensive genetic analysis, thus eliminating the extensive screening tools and high cost associated with genetic testing, making this test easily accessible to predictive screening to cancer patients and their families.