Background and Purpose
The Bobbie Bastow Genetics Foundation (BBGF) was set up in memory of Bobbie Bastow who passed away in March 2012 at the age of 42 from cancer. The BBGF is a registered charity (charities registration number 20200139) and funds research, care and support for people with a genetic predisposition to developing cancer.
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation and the study of hereditary in people. Genomics medicine harnesses the large amounts of genomic data to determine disease risk, support diagnosis and develop more personalised and targeted treatment options, with the goal of improving patient outcomes
The Bobbie Bastow Genetics Foundation was established to support research, education and the prevention of cancer, with a particular focus on people with a very high risk of developing cancer. About 5-10% of cancers are thought to be hereditary. Hereditary cancers generally are not significantly different from non-hereditary cancers. It is the way the cancers occur in the family that indicates whether they may be hereditary. Signs suggesting hereditary cancer include:
- two or more relatives with the same type of cancer, on the same side of the family,
- several generations affected,
- early ages of cancer diagnosis,
- individuals with more than one primary cancer,
- the occurrence in one family of cancers which are known to be genetically related (such as breast and ovarian cancer, or colon and uterine cancer),
- the presence of physical signs which are known to be associated with hereditary cancer (such as moles and melanoma, or polyps and colon cancer), and
- certain rare types of cancer.
The specific aims of the BBGF are:
Prevention: Provide support for research into and the deployment of preventative measures for high risk groups.
Early Detection: The development of programmes and diagnostics for earlier cancer detection.
New Treatments: The development of more effective treatment for cancer.
Resources and Infrastructure: Provide support for crucial healthcare infrastructure to support people at a high risk of developing cancer.
Our Activities
Prevention
- Funding a genetics nurses.
- Funding the Progeny High Risk Screening Software for Cancer Genetics Clinics.
- Screening programme for high risk groups.
Diagnosis
- Collaboration on early detection utilising circulating DNA
- Surveillance programme with Royal Marsden Hospital, UK.
Research Partnerships
- Partnership with Johns Hopkins in Cancer Predisposition
- Research project with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre on Hepatic Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy
Our Board
Prof David Gallagher
Prof Gallagher is a consultant medical oncologist and consultant medical geneticist. A UCD graduate, he was awarded the first Irish Society of Medical Oncology fellowship to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, New York in 2006 and completed training in both medical oncology and medical genetics between Sloan Kettering and New York Presbyterian Cornell University Hospital before returning to Ireland in 2010.
Tommy Bracken
Tommy has spent over 25 years working in various executive roles in healthcare, originally in pharmaceuticals but for the last decade in hospital management, clinical research and sustainability. A qualified Chartered Director, he has held board level roles at several institutions and is currently the company secretary of the Bobbie Bastow Genetics Foundation and the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital and is on the Governance Committee of Precision Oncology Ireland.
National Cancer Strategy
The National Cancer Strategy 2017-26 includes as one of its recommendation a programme for hereditary cancers (recommendation 19).
“The National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) will further develop the Programme for Hereditary Cancers to ensure that evaluation, counselling, testing and risk reduction interventions are available as appropriate, and that services are available to patients on the basis of need.”
The Bobbie Bastow Genetics Foundation aligned its activities with the national programme to support people in high-risk groups. Specifically, the foundation has:
- Worked closely with the National Cancer Control Programme in advocating for the development of a surveillance programme for people with an inherited familial predisposition to cancer.
- Funded individual sequencing programmes for patients in high-risk groups.
- Partnered with the surveillance programme in the Royal Marsden Hospital, London for people in a defined high-risk group.
- Funded the expansion of the cancer genetics clinic at St James’ Hospital both in terms of personnel and software programme.
- Developed research partnerships with Johns Hopkins and Memorial Sloan Kettering.
The full National Cancer Strategy is available at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a89819-national-cancer-strategy-2017-2026/