Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and the national health insurance in Japan

Abstract

　Medical practices for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer（HBOC）have been partly covered by public medical insurance in Japan．BRCA1 or BRCA2（BRCA1/2）genetic testing, surveillance, risk-reducing mastectomy（RRM）and risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy for BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant carriers for all patients with ovarian cancer and some patients with breast cancer are approved under national health insurance in 2020. However, relatives among HBOC pedigree and BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant carriers who do not have breast cancer or ovarian cancer are not covered by public health insurance. Furthermore, clinical application of multi-gene panel testing（MGPT）is an urgent issue.