Dr. Pant on the Role of Genetic Testing in Pancreatic Cancer

Shubham Pant, MD, associate medical director of the Clinical & Translational Research Center, associate professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the role of genetic testing in pancreatic cancer.

Genetic testing has been a welcome addition to the pancreatic cancer armamentarium, says Pant.

Germline genetic testing can identify key inherited mutations within a patient’s blood, explains Pant. Conversely, somatic genetic testing identifies aberrations within the tumor.

Germline and somatic testing results can inform whether a patient is a candidate for targeted therapy, Pant says.

Currently, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the ASCO guidelines recommend that all patients with pancreatic cancer undergo germline testing to identify BRCA1/2 mutations, concludes Pant.