“It is critically important that patients and their caregivers understand the challenges and opportunities associated with genetic/genomic testing and reporting,” notes Julie Eggington, MS, PhD, CGI’s CEO and co-founder.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (PRWEB)
August 03, 2021
The Center for Genomic Interpretation (CGI) recently launched The Rising Tide Podcast series, which features nationally-recognized experts in precision medicine. Each podcast will cover one or more important issues associated with how to optimize the best clinical interventions and outcomes. The complimentary podcasts are hosted through YouTube and multiple podcast outlets, and can be accessed here.
“It is critically important that patients and their caregivers understand the challenges and opportunities associated with genetic/genomic testing and reporting,” notes Julie Eggington, MS, PhD, CGI’s CEO and co-founder. “Implementing a successful treatment strategy is often tied to the specific condition or disease that a patient or loved one has. Only through improving accuracy and quality can the promise of precision medicine be realized.”
The first two episodes feature Dr. Ali Raza Khaki, a medical oncologist in genitourinary cancer at Stanford University, entitled “Loose Regulatory Standards Portend a New Era of Imprecision Oncology.” During the two-part podcast, he emphasizes the need for patients and providers to be able to make informed decisions to ensure proper treatment interventions and avoid wild west scenarios.
In episode one, Dr. Khaki notes “My concern with precision medicine is that it’s perceived to be more precise than it truly is, and when this happens, this can lead people to argue against performing randomized clinical trials or producing high quality evidence. Or in some cases even disregarding the proven therapies that have been shown to work in the past, in favor of unproven therapies because of precision medicine.”
In episode two, Dr. Khaki provides a more technical and detailed discussion regarding improving clinical trial study designs while still being agile, the need for clear biomarkers, addressing head on the problem of false positives, and the difficulty for oncologists and other providers to stay abreast of all of the changes in precision medicine – among other topics.
The podcast moderator Megan Garlopow, PhD, responded at one point during the podcast noting that clinicians are “not necessarily aware that seemingly comparable tests across laboratories can vary wildly in quality. It can be really alarming how much variability there is in quality across laboratories and one lab might be incredibly well-versed in cardiomyopathy genetic/genomic tests but then they start a cancer panel and they don’t have the same level of excellence but that can kind of get lost in the messaging.”
When asked about how we can rise the tide in precision medicine, Dr. Khaki concluded in both podcasts that he recommends using sound clinical trial research methodologies, properly train physicians with skills of critical appraisal, and eliminate the heavy hand of private enterprise that can sometimes corrupt biomedicine and good science.
Anyone interested in subscribing to the podcast series can do so on YouTube, or podcast outlets including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Stitcher. Be sure to activate alerts so that you don’t miss out on new episodes.
CGI is offering several unique ELEVATEGENETICS programs that establish meaningful and actionable pathways to improve genetic/genomic testing, analysis and reporting. For payers, ELEVATEGENETICS metrics offer unique evaluations when selecting and contracting with laboratories. For laboratories, these programs offer a unique third-party review focusing on key aspects of the genetic/genomic testing process which can dramatically improve the accuracy of test findings. For consumers and providers, CGI offers a host of programs and resources to help them make informed decisions.
For more information about CGI, see http://www.genomicinterpretation.org.
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The Center for Genomic Interpretation – http://www.genomicinterpretation.org
The Center for Genomic Interpretation (CGI) is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission to save and improve lives through encouraging careful stewardship of clinical genetics, genomics and precision medicine. Too frequently the precision medicine goals of patients and their providers are unknowingly thwarted by inaccurate or ineffective genetic or genomic testing. We facilitate the realization of value from among the confusing scramble of the new precision medicine era. The CGI team consists of clinical genetics and genomics scientific leaders, healthcare policy veterans, experienced business professionals, and others dedicated to helping stakeholders achieve the vision and promise of precision medicine. CGI offers a range of programs and services targeted to all stakeholders including patients, providers, payers, pharmaceutical developers, policy makers and laboratories.
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