Genomic sequencing panels to personalize cancer treatment beneficial in only 5% of the patients, finds study

Medical Xpress June 16, 2023
By The Spanish National Cancer Research Centre

In recent years, the use of genomic sequencing panels in cancer treatment has become widespread. These are tests that search the DNA of the patient’s tumor for gene variants for which validated drugs are known, making the treatment more personalized and therefore more effective. They are part of what is known as precision oncology.

But a study by the Breast Cancer Clinical Research Unit at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), led by Miguel Ángel Quintela, shows that genomic sequencing panels, as they are currently used in clinical practice, are only useful in 5% of patients (one in 20).