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Role of Genetic versus Genomic Testing in Cancer
“Genetic testing is really about the patient, and it is helpful to find out what is the patient’s risk” to a particular disease explained Edmund Pezalla, MD, MPH. He thinks that research in this field—prediction of an individual’s risk for a particular type of cancer such as breast or prostate or colon cancer— is currently in its early stages.
“Genomics, on the other hand is about the tumor itself. The tumor has a different genetic makeup than the patient, and it might actually have a different genetic makeup subsequent to treatment. So a tumor further down the treatment road may be different from where it started,” said Dr Pezalla.
“So genomics is important in that it specifically tells us about the tumor that the patient has and it helps us guide treatment, while genetics is about the patient and it helps us guide screening and other preventive services,” he explained.
Contributor: For Complex Cases, Continuity in Acute Care Is Necessary
April 23rd 2025For patients with complex needs and social challenges like unstable housing, the hospital has become their de facto medical home—yet each visit is a fragmented restart, without continuity, context, or a clear path forward.
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Higher Weight-Adjusted Waist Index Tied to Greater Mortality Risk in Patients With Osteoarthritis
April 23rd 2025Researchers consider the weight-adjusted waist index a more precise predictor of mortality risk in patients with osteoarthritis than traditional obesity measures, like body mass index.
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