Dr. Hall on Multigene Target Panels for Genetic Weaknesses

Michael J. Hall, MD, MS, director, Gastrointestinal Risk Assessment, assistant professor, Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses multigene target panels that examine tumors for genetic weaknesses.

Multigene panels have been developed for practitioners to evaluate tumors for genetic and genomic weaknesses, Hall explains. However, the fact that detected mutations within tumors are reflective of potential germline variations is understudied. This should be a significant area of research, Hall adds, because patients may be at risk for other cancers or may be unaware of risks associated with their family history.

In a collaboration between Fox Chase Cancer Center and Foundation Medicine, a multigene target panel tested approximately 15,000 tumors. Researchers examined a subset of the tested genes that were known for hereditary cancer risk to determine how many of them were pathogenic.