Patients’ Genes Provide a Blueprint for Hope in Cancer Treatment

• A article in yesterday’s New York Times (“Cancer Centers Racing to Map Patients’ Genes,” April 21, 2013) discusses the emerging importance of gene mapping in determining precise medical treatment.

  Fox Chase Cancer Center has been pursuing this course of treatment for oncology patients, plotting a genetic “blueprint” for targeting treatment in advanced cancers. The Cancer Genome Institute (CGI) anticipates the future of cancer care—a time when it will be common practice for a patient’s tumor to be analyzed in order to identify relevant genetic mutations that will potentially inform their treatment.
  

  Fox Chase is among the first institutions in the world to offer  CancerCode—45™, which uses advanced technology to sequence 45 cancer-related genes in an individual’s tumor. In addition to this breakthrough test, the CGI offers a wide array of genetic sequencing services for clinical and research purposes.