Dr. Turner on Important Steps for Genomic Profiling in Gynecologic Malignancies

Taylor Turner, MD, fellow, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, discusses important steps to implement a genomic profiling program for gynecologic malignancies.

To implement a precision medicine or next-generation sequencing program, Turner says, necessary infrastructure needs to be in place. A pharmacist is needed because physicians will likely be using drugs they’ve never seen before. A dedicated individual is also needed to help interpret the results. A commercial partner will do the best they can, but they don’t normally have the expertise of a clinician in terms of various treatment options. Next, a database is needed to keep track of the rapidly evolving treatment landscape and relevant clinical trials. For example, 2 years ago, a patient with microsatellite instability-high disease didn’t have many treatment options. Now, they can receive immunotherapy.

Turner adds that this shows a lot of promise in non-ovarian malignancies.