ESMO 2019: Conclusions and Perspectives on Genomic Tumor Boards

Barcelona, Spain (UroToday.com)  To close out the genomic tumor board education session, Dr. Joaquin Mateo offered concluding remarks summarizing key points from the prior sessions.


Genomic testing offers many important opportunities, including more accurate assessment of prognosis, predicting patient response to therapy, identification of germline variants that can lead to early detection, and monitoring of tumor adaptation and evolution. While obtaining this information is greatly facilitated by tumor boards, it is important consider whether the correct sample is being sent for the correct test with good performance characteristics. It is also challenging to appropriately frame the results of genetic testing, both in terms that are clear but also do not oversell the potential benefit of the test result.

Genomic tumor boards can help facilitate the identification of therapeutic interventions for patients with cancer, but providers and institutions must be innovative and flexible to adapt their particular needs and available expertise to tumor board design.

Presented by: Joaquin Mateo, MD, PhD, Clinical Oncologist at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain          

Written by: Alok Tewari, MD, PhD, Medical Oncology Fellow at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, at the 2019 European Society for Medical Oncology annual meeting, ESMO 2019 #ESMO19, 27 Sept - 1 Oct 2019 in Barcelona, Spain