The Center for Personalized Diagnostics From ASCO 2013

Christine Wilson, cancer survivor, shares her experiences from the The American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) national conference in 2013. Every year,  cancer specialists and researchers from around the world gather to present their latest findings on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of science. At a recent continuing medical education meeting, experts from the Abramson Cancer Center summarized some of the most important research from ASCO 2013 for a packed room of over 300 oncologists.

This is a summary of the information presented at ASCO by Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Roth, MD, PhD, about personalized diagnostics and medicine at the Center for Personalized Diagnostics. 

One result of the rapid advances in understanding cancer biology has been the discovery of numerous genetic mutations that either cause or are associated with specific cancer types. These mutations are the basis for targeted therapies, cancer treatments that block the abnormal activity of these mutated genes.

The new Penn Medicine Center for Personalized Diagnostics (CPD) provides state of the art genetic screening that is fast, cost effective and focused on improving the ability of doctors and patients to make decisions about when and how to use targeted therapies. CPD testing is now available for acute myelocytic leukemia, melanoma, brain tumors and lung cancer, with plans to expand to colon cancer and a wide spectrum of cancer types in the near future.

The CPD tests for a wide spectrum of gene abnormalities allowing for the identification of both the more common mutations as well as those with a low prevalence, “the one-percenters” as Dr. Roth calls them. Test results are reported as either actionable--meaning that targeted therapies exist, or variances of unknown significance (VUS). While finding these VUS mutations may not help today’s patients, they are important for future diagnostic and treatment. CPD tests only for genes that influence the diagnosis, treatment or prognosis of cancers--not those which predict cancer risk.

For more information, visit the Penn Medicine Center for Personalized Diagnostics.