Dr. Hall on the Importance of Genetic Testing in Pancreatic Cancer

Michael J. Hall, MD, MS, chair and associate professor, Department of Clinical Genetics, director, Gastrointestinal Risk Assessment, Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses the importance of genetic testing in pancreatic cancer.

On the heels of encouraging data from the phase III POLO trial presented at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, Hall stresses that actionable mutations are very common in pancreatic cancer. Research indicates that approximately 10% to 15% of patients with pancreatic cancer have a clinically meaningful genetic alteration in their tumor that is important not only to their disease but also in terms of their family history.

Germline testing is not only inexpensive in the United States, but the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines suggest it should be standardized in practice. There are still barriers that stand in the way of this, Hall says, but physicians need to overcome them in order to provide the best patient care.