Dr. Mizrahi on the Importance of Early Genomic Testing in CRC

Jonathan Mizrahi, MD, a hematology/oncology fellow at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the importance of early genomic testing in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

It is crucial to implement genomic testing early in the disease course because doing it later on could cause the patient to miss out on a potentially effective treatment, says Mizrahi. Testing early is always appropriate and is starting to become widely adopted. Unlike dealing with a patient who has oligometastatic disease where cure is still feasible, a patient with mCRC is being treated palliatively.

These are patients who will run through every line of therapy assuming they are fit enough, and as such, they will get to a point where they should be enrolled in a clinical trial. Testing them early, when they are still fit and have a good performance status, is important to inform subsequent therapy decisions, Mizrahi reiterates, adding that it should be done right at diagnosis.