The Emerging Role of Genetic Testing in Colorectal Cancer
Pashtoon M. Kasi, MD, MBBS, MS, discusses how genetic testing is underutilized in colorectal cancer, despite its ability to guide treatment dosing and adjustment based on the mutations or variations within a patient.
Pashtoon M. Kasi, MD, MBBS, MS, assistant professor of oncology and senior associate consultant in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Mayo Clinic, discusses how genetic testing is underutilized in colorectal cancer (CRC), despite its ability to guide treatment dosing and adjustment based on the mutations or variations within a patient.
In CRC, specific genes are known to metabolize 5-fluorouracil, capecitabine, or irinotecan. Historical analyses have also shown that patients do much worse in regard to toxicities when given chemotherapy if they harbor a gene abberration, but Kasi says the frequency in which this aberration appears is underestimated.
