Dr. Chang on Genomic Testing in Breast Cancer

Jenny C. Chang, MD, director of the Methodist Cancer Center at Houston Methodist Hospital, discusses genomic testing in breast cancer.

The complex nature of breast cancer management is growing due to the number of tests available in the modern age. Within each subtype, there are even smaller groups that make it more arduous to test for therapy benefit, such as in triple-negative breast cancer, which has at least 6 subtypes.

Chang suggests that genomic testing could be beneficial, as it is simply a painless blood test that can find mutations, circulating tumor cells, and cell-free DNA.

Rather than testing patients with a collection of different tests with the hope of finding a response, Chang suggests that the oncology community could be a little more thoughtful in the types of tests they order.