Genetic tumor diagnostics provides the information basis for treatment decisions
Cancer arises from changes in genes that deregulate cell growth and cause cells to grow out of control. Genetic tumor diagnostics hence is a powerful tumor diagnostic tool as it detects predispositions for cancer, identifies existing diseases and gives insights into the disease mechanism for optimal treatment decisions.
A valid diagnosis improves the patient’s quality of life drastically. It provides clarity and guidelines for action to lower the risk of developing cancer or to detect the disease early. Based on the information gained, physicians who treat patients with cancer can determine the most effective therapy to increase the chances of recovery.
Genetic diagnostics should be integrated early into the diagnostic plan – because the right diagnosis is the basis for optimal management of cancer.
CancerPrecision®
Comprehensive diagnostics for targeted cancer treatment
CancerNeo®
Identify neoantigens for personalized cancer vaccine design
CancerDetect
Highly sensitive detection of actionable variants from liquid biopsy with low tumor content
CancerEssential®
Evaluate the suitability of planned therapies for the most common tumor entities
Family risk assessment and prevention
Every fifth tumor develops due to a hereditary predisposition. Prevention is the most important measure in the fight against tumor diseases. Knowing predispositions and initiating appropriate early detection examinations are central components in preventing metastatic and late-detected disease progression. Genetic tumor diagnosis is especially important for persons with a family history of cancer as it assesses their risk of developing cancer.
Diagnostic Panel for Hereditary Tumor Diseases
Detect hereditary predispositions to cancer
Disease Prevention Panel
Understand genetic risk factors and plan health care
About Tumor Development
Tumors develop from cells as a consequence of changes in genes, called mutations. These changes happen by chance and normally are corrected by the cell’s DNA repair systems. Exposure to carcinogens, such as tobacco smoke or UV radiation, increases the number of mutations. A not correctly repaired mutation can lead to cancer. These obtained mutations are called somatic mutations. Cancer promoting somatic mutations result in changed protein functions leading to dysregulated cellular processes. Initially, these genetic changes promote loss of growth control in affected cells during cell division. Additional mutations select for cell clones which successfully continue proliferation and decrease their rate of death. Further mutations accumulate in the course of tumor progression and promote tumor cell distribution to distant organs (metastases). The somatic mutations which are acquired by tumors in the course of the disease are individual and differ not only between different cancer entities but also from patient to patient. Thus, cancer is a multifactorial and heterogeneous genetic disease.
Every tumor is unique.
The individual set of tumor-specific mutations helps the tumor to survive, reduce sensitivity to treatment, and develop resistance against therapeutic agents. Knowing the somatic mutations helps to identify promising therapeutic strategies and to avoid ineffective treatment options with their associated side effects. Currently, anti-cancer therapies are still mostly chosen based upon the organ of origin. However, studies show that comprehensive genetic tumor diagnostics provide therapeutically relevant information in over 76% of all tested cases (Frampton et al., 2013; CeGaT internal data).
Tumorprogression
Knowledge
Webinar
Genetic tumor diagnostics – the information basis for treatment decisions
In this webinar recording, our specialists will explain the possibilities and limitations of molecular genetic tumor diagnostics. Saskia Biskup (MD., Ph.D.) and Stefan Griesbach (Ph.D.) will present current approaches in the field of precision oncology and show how genetic diagnostics can support you in determining the best therapy for your patients.
A Case from Our Daily Patient Care
Genetic tumor diagnostics can save lives
Genetic tumor diagnostics can save lives. Saskia Biskup (MD., Ph.D.) describes a case from daily patient care in which tumor diagnostics helped a patient for whom all previous therapies had failed. Exome sequencing revealed that the patient had a high tumor mutation burden and needed checkpoint inhibitor therapy. The treating physician initiated appropriate treatment based on our findings. It was very effective – today, the patient is doing well.